Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed in July 2011 as the new Minister of Finance for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Prior to this, she was the Managing Director of the World Bank from October 2007 through July 2011. From June to August 2006, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, overseeing Nigeria’s external relations. From July 2003 to June 2006, she served as Minister of Finance and Economy of Nigeria and Head of Nigeria's much acclaimed Presidential Economic team responsible for implementing a comprehensive home grown economic reform program that stabilized the macro-economy and tripled the growth rate to an average 6% per annum over three years. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Brookings Institution.

Previously, she pursued a 21-year career as a development economist at the World Bank where she held the post of Vice President and Corporate Secretary. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also served as Director of Institutional Change and Strategy from 1995-1997. From 1989 to 1991 she was Special Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Operations.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvard and has a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is fluent in French, Ibo and English. She has received numerous awards, including Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colby College in 2007 and Brown University in 2006; Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Northern Caribbean University Mandeville, Jamaica in 2005; European Time Magazine Hero of the Year award in 2004 for her work on economic reform in Nigeria; Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year in 2005; and This Day (Nigeria’s premier newspaper) Minister of the Year award 2004 and 2005.