Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, has been named one of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women for 2025, her seventh appearance on the coveted list.
On Thursday, Okonjo-Iweala expressed her thanks and reflected on the responsibility that comes with influence in a post through her verified X account.
“Nice to make (for the eighth time) the @Forbes List of the 100 most powerful women of the world 2025 and to be on the cover of the magazine. With power comes responsibility! We are doing our best to fight for and reform the rules-based multilateral trading system, which the world needs to avoid a chaotic approach to world trade that would hurt the smallest and the least powerful countries,” she wrote.
The World Trade Organisation DG also congratulated her fellow African women on the list, which included Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Prime Minister Suminwa Judith, Bidvest CEO Mpumi Madisa, EbonyLife Group CEO Mo Abudu, and Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
The annual Forbes list recognises women who hold significant influence in business, politics, culture, and global leadership.
Okonjo-Iweala, rated 92nd, is the first woman and African to serve as WTO Director-General, beginning in March 2021.
Forbes referred to her as “an economist and international development professional” with more than 30 years of experience in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
She had previously served two times as Nigeria’s Finance Minister and briefly as Foreign Minister in 2006.
The WTO chief also led the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has immunized over 760 million children worldwide.
Okonjo-Iweala has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she is known for her conviction in the ability of commerce to raise developing countries out of poverty and promote sustainable development.
