The 70-year-old Nigerian’s reappointment was confirmed by consensus at a special meeting of the organization’s General Council.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the head of the World Trade Organization, was reappointed for a second term on Friday, making her the first woman and the first African to lead the organization. She was the only candidate in the election, and her reappointment was confirmed by consensus during a special closed-door meeting of the WTO’s General Council. The 70-year-old Nigerian's current term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process for the next term was initially expected to take several months. However, with Okonjo-Iweala being the sole candidate, African countries called for a faster process, which was officially aimed at facilitating preparations for the WTO's next major ministerial conference, set to take place in Cameroon in 2026.

The speed of the process was also influenced by a desire to prevent any potential interference from the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which had blocked Okonjo-Iweala's appointment for several months in 2020. According to Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, African countries pushed for a quicker process to avoid a repeat of the situation where Trump’s team vetoed her appointment, leaving the WTO in a leadership vacuum.

The overwhelming support for Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment was not necessarily because of personal admiration, according to a source close to the discussions. Instead, members of the WTO were concerned that failing to reappoint her could lead to delays or the potential for Washington to block other candidates, which would leave the organization without a leader. The idea of having no one in charge of the WTO was deemed unacceptable by the members.

Rockwell also noted that accelerating the reappointment process could create tensions in the relationship between the WTO and the United States. These tensions had already existed, but speeding up the process may have raised the stakes. During Trump's presidency, the U.S. repeatedly criticized the WTO, weakening its dispute settlement appeal system and even threatening to withdraw from the organization entirely.

Since taking the helm of the WTO, Okonjo-Iweala has worked to revitalize the organization, advocating for a greater focus on issues such as climate change and health.