Seven things to know about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the woman set to make history as WTO boss

International awards and recognition 

The Transparency International in 2019 named Okonjo-Iweala as one of the eight (8) Female Anti-Corruption Fighters Who Inspire. She has also received several awards and recognition, including being listed by the UK UK Guardian as one of the Top 100 Women in the World in 2011. Time as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014, Fortune as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders in 2015, the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy. Also, she was consecutively ranked by Forbes as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. In 2020, Forbes named Okonjo-Iweala as African of the Year.

Also, Nigeria’s This Day newspaper named her as the Minister of the Decade, People’s Choice Award in 2020. She also received the International Service Award of the World Affairs Councils of America and the Aminu Kano Award for Leadership in 2020. 

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Private life

Okonjo-Iweala is married to Dr. Ikemba Iweala, a neurosurgeon based in Washington. They have four children – three sons, and a daughter.  The sons include Uzodinma Iweala, Okechukwu Iweala, and Uchechi Iweala while the only daughter is Onyinye Iweala.