Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
In office
July 2003 – June 2006
In office
June 2006 – August 3, 2006
Born June 13, 1954 (1954-06-13) (age 53)
Delta State, Nigeria

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born June 13, 1954) is the former Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, notable for being the first woman to hold either of those positions. She served as finance minister from July 2003 until her appointment as foreign minister in June 2006, and as foreign minister until her resignation in August 2006. Okonjo-Iweala was considered as a possible replacement for former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.[1] [2] On October 4th 2007 she was appointed as Managing Director of the World Bank by World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

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[edit] Education and personal life

Okonjo-Iweala is an Igbo[3] from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, where her father, Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, is the obi (king).[4] She was educated at Harvard University (A.B. Magna Cum Laude 1977) and earned her Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is married - her husband is from Umuahia, Abia State[5] - and they have four children. One, Uzodinma Iweala, is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Beasts of No Nation (2005).

[edit] Career

Prior to her ministerial career in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala was vice-president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group. She left it in 2003 after she was appointed to President Obasanjo's cabinet as Finance Minister on 15 July.

In October 2005, she led the Nigerian team that struck a deal with the Paris Club, a group of bilateral creditors, to pay a portion of Nigeria's external debt (US $12 billion) in return for an $18 billion debt write-off. Prior to the partial debt payment and write-off, Nigeria spent roughly U.S. $1 billion every year on debt servicing, without making a dent in the principal owed.

Okonjo-Iweala also introduced the practice of publishing each state's monthly financial allocation from the federal government in the newspapers. She was instrumental in helping Nigeria obtain its first ever sovereign credit rating (of BB minus) from Fitch and Standard & Poor's. Nigeria is considered to have defaulted on its sovereign debt in 1983 (debt rescheduling is considered a type of default by rating agencies).[6]

Some controversy surrounded Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as Finance Minister, as well as that of Foreign Affairs minister, Olu Adeniji, as other ministers were resentful of their United Nations salaries of over US$240,000, compared with their own $6,000 base salary. The controversy was spearheaded by reform-minded media reports, although Okonjo-Iweala felt that her critics were unjustified. On Friday, 20th July 2007, the Court of Appeal ruled that the salary over payment was illegal and not done within the ambit of Nigeria's laws, and directed her and Adeniji to pay back the excess to the account of the state.[7]

She resigned as Nigeria's Foreign Minister on August 3, 2006 following her sudden removal as head of Nigeria's Economic Intelligence team by President Olusegun Obasanjo. She left office at the end of August 2006.

On October 4, 2007, World Bank President Robert Zoellick appointed her to the post of Managing Director, effective December 1, 2007.[8]

[edit] Non-profit work

In 2007, Okonjo-Iweala's NGO, NOI Global Consulting, partnered with the Gallup Organization to introduce an opinion poll, the NOI poll, into the Nigerian polity.[9] She is a fellow at the Brookings Institution.[10] Okonjo-Iweala also serves on the Advisory Board of Global Financial Integrity and on the Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute.[11]

[edit] Honors and awards

Additionally, on September 28, 2007, Irish musician Bono was awarded the Liberty Medal. Bono donated the $100,000 prize to the Washington-based Debt AIDS Trade Africa, which he co-founded, and Okonjo-Iweala accepted the award on the organization's behalf.[13]

[edit] Works

  • Chinua Achebe: Teacher of Light - a biography of Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, published by Africa World Press, (2003), co-authored with Tijan Sallah.
  • The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy - an academic piece, published by Africa World Press, (2003), co-edited with Charles C. Soludo and Mansur Muhtar

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wroughton, Lesley. "INTERVIEW-Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala for World Bank?", UK.Reuters.com, Reuters, 2007-05-18. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  2. ^ McKenna, Barrie. "Washington negotiating Wolfowitz's exit", Globe and Mail, CTVglobemedia Publishing, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  3. ^ Nwobu, Lawrence Chinedu. "Ohanaeze and the Igbo Leadership Question", BNW Magazine, 2006-01-31. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  4. ^ Agborh, Alphonsus. "Obi emerges after 22 years legal tussle", Nigerian Tribune, African Newspapers of Nigeria, 2007-03-26. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  5. ^ Elendu, Jonathan. "Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Tom or Joy", ElenduReports.com, Elendu Reports, 2007-08-06. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  6. ^ http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci1-3.pdf
  7. ^ Paul Vallely (2006-05-16). The woman who has the power to change Africa. The woman who has the power to change Africa. The Independent. Retrieved on 2006-08-29.
  8. ^ a b c d e "President Zoellick Appoints Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Managing Director, World Bank", Web.WorldBank.org, World Bank Group, 2007-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  9. ^ Abiodun, Eromosele; Tumise Adekunle. "Okonjo-Iweala Partners Gallup for Polling in Nigeria", Thisday online, Leaders & Company, 2007-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. 
  10. ^ Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Former Nigerian Finance and Foreign Minister, Joins Brookings. Brookings Institution website. Brookings Institution (2007-01-10). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
  11. ^ WRI Elects Cadoso, Gore, Okonjo-Iweala and Thomas. World Resources Institute website. World Resources Institute (2005-08-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  12. ^ Nworah, Uche (2006-11-28). Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Honoured As Nigerian Of The Year 2006. Nigeria Village Square. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
  13. ^ "Bono gets medal for his work in Africa", Associated Press via The Washington Post, The Washington Post Company, 2007-09-27. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Adamu Ciroma		 Finance Minister of Nigeria
May, 2003–July, 2006		 Succeeded by
Nenadi Usman
Preceded by
Oluyemi Adeniji		 Foreign Minister of Nigeria
July, 2006–August, 2006		 Succeeded by
Joy Ogwu
Languages