By Our Correspondents
History-making Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria will be pronounced Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Monday, January 15, 2021 when the General Council of the global institution whose primary purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all, holds a special meeting to choose its DG.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, 66, a former deputy managing director of the World Bank and twice finance minister for Nigeria, becomes the first female and first African to lead the WTO.
Although the WTO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the special meeting will take place in virtual format, the organisation announced – obviously in deference to the COVID-19 pandemic guidelines and travel restrictions.
The Nigerian became the sole candidate when her only remaining opponent, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee withdrew her bid for the position, just as the current U.S. President Joe Biden’s Administration broke away from the immediate past Donald Trump’s position, by endorsing Okonji-Iweala’s candidature.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala becomes the seventh DG of the WTO, succeeding. Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil who stepped down as director-general in August, a year earlier his term was meant to expire.
WTO Director-General selection process
The WTO stated that the procedures for appointing its Director-General are described in the document WT/L/509.
The nomination period for the 2020 DG selection process ended on 8 July, with eight candidates nominated by their respective governments. On 31 July, the General Council agreed that there would be three stages of consultations with WTO members commencing on 7 September to assess their preferences and to determine which candidate is best placed to attract consensus support.
The General Council Chair announced on 18 September the results of the first round of consultations and the five candidates advancing to the next stage. On 8 October, the body announced the results of the second round of consultations and the two candidates advancing to the third round being Ngozi of Nigeria and Myung-hee of South Korea, before the latter dropped out.
The results of the final round of consultations had been announced on 28 October.
The director-general position is for a tenure of four years.
The WTO provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all, thus contributing to economic growth and development. The WTO also provides a legal and institutional framework for the implementation and monitoring of these agreements, as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application. The current body of trade agreements comprising the WTO consists of 16 different multilateral agreements (to which all WTO members are parties) and two different plurilateral agreements (to which only some WTO members are parties).
Director-General selection timetable 2020
General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand informed members on 20 May 2020 the appointment process for the next Director-General would formally commence on 8 June with nominations accepted from that date until 8 July.
At the end of the nomination period, eight candidates had been nominated by their respective governments. From 15 to 17 July, all of the candidates met with WTO members at a special General Council meeting, at which they had the opportunity to present their views and take questions from the membership.
The second phase of the process in which the candidates “make themselves known to members” ended on 7 September. From 7 to 16 September, Ambassador Walker, together with the Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body (Dacio Castillo of Honduras) and the Chair of the Trade Policy Review Body (Harald Aspelund of Iceland) consulted with all WTO members to assess their preferences and seek to determine which candidate is best placed to attract consensus support.
At a Heads of Delegation meeting on 18 September, Amb. Walker and his two co-facilitators in the selection process disclosed the five candidates who had secured the broadest and deepest support from the WTO membership in the first round of consultations and should consequently advance to the next stage of the process.
A second round of consultations took place from 24 September to 6 October. Amb. Walker and his co-facilitators disclosed on 8 October the outcome of these consultations and the two candidates advancing to the third and final round of consultations, which will determine the successor to Roberto Azevêdo. The third phase began on 19 October and ran until 27 October.
At a Heads of Delegation meeting on 28 October, Amb. Walker and his two co-facilitators announced that based on their consultations with all delegations the candidate best poised to attain consensus and become the 7th Director-General was Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. Amb. Walker stressed that this was the assessment of the “troika” of facilitators and that a final decision had to be taken by the members at a General Council meeting, which he has scheduled for 9 November.
On 6 November, Amb. Walker announced that the meeting scheduled for 9 November would be postponed until further notice, during which time he would continue undertaking consultations with delegations.
Candidates for DG selection process 2020
Director-General selection timetable 2016–17
The appointment is made by a consensus decision of the General Council, which consists of all WTO members. The Chair of the General Council informed WTO members on 3 November that Mr Azevêdo had provided a letter expressing his wish to seek reappointment for a further term, and that if members wished to nominate other candidates they would have until 31 December 2016 to do so. The process is explained in a note which the General Council Chair circulated to all WTO members. The General Council Chair’s note and Roberto Azevêdo’s letter are available here.
At the end of the nomination period, the General Council Chair, Ambassador Harald Neple of Norway, informed WTO members that no further nominations for the position of Director-General had been received by the deadline of 31 December 2016 and that the incumbent Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo, was therefore the only candidate for the role.
At a meeting of the General Council on 28 February, WTO members agreed by consensus to appoint Roberto Azevêdo as Director-General for a second four-year term, starting on 1 September 2017.
Director-General selection timetable 2012–13
The appointment is made by a consensus decision of the General Council, which consists of all WTO members. A detailed explanation for the 2012-13 selection process can be found in a 1 November 2012 Communication from the General Council Chair to members. Nine candidates were put forward by their governments during the nomination period which closed on 31 December. The candidates presented themselves to the WTO membership in the General Council, 29–31 January 2013. They also spoke to the press.
From 1 April the General Council chair (Amb. Shahid Bashir of Pakistan), assisted by chairs of the Dispute Settlement Body (Amb. Jonathan Fried of Canada) and the Trade Policy Review Body (Amb. Joakim Reiter of Sweden), consulted all members. Their task was to help members build a consensus, and move from the initial field of candidates to a final appointment no later than 31 May 2013. On 19 March, the General Council chairperson told ambassadors how the consultations would be organised.
On 12 April, the General Council chair reported the result of the first round of consultations, and announced a revised slate of five candidates.
On 26 April, he reported on the second round, with two candidates remaining: Mr Herminio Blanco of Mexico and Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil. On 8 May, the three chairs recommended Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil to members as the consensus candidate. He was formally accepted as the next Director-General by the General Council on 14 May.