Candidates in the running to take the helm of the World Trade Organization WTO
The following candidates have been nominated by their respective governments for the post of World Trade Organization Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Mr Roberto Azevêdo, who has announced he will step down on 31 August 2020. The change is taking place at a time when many question the future of the WTO as an advocate for international trade.
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Candidates for DG selection process 2020
- Jesus Seade Kuri, Mexico
An economist who has been working for the Mexican foreign affairs ministry since 2018, Kuri was the country’s chief negotiator for the U.S., Mexico and Canada Trade Agreement, known as USMCA.
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria
Nigeria’s candidate is a global finance expert, who has served as the country’s finance minister on two occasions. Okonjo-Iweala has been named one of the “eight female anti-corruption fighters who inspire” in 2019 by Transparency International, and in 2014 Time magazine said she was among the 100 most influential people in the world.
- Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh, Egypt
Mamdouh has been working as a consultant since 2017, but had previously worked at the WTO. He was director of the trade in services and investment division of the institution between 2001 and 2017.
- Tudor Ulianovschi, Moldova
Ulianovschi served as Moldova’s minister of foreign affairs between 2018 and 2019, and has been a diplomat for 15 years.
- Yoo Myung-hee, Republic of Korea
Minister for trade for Korea, Myung-hee was the first female to have the job and has held different positions that cover the same area. Back in 1995, she was in charge of WTO affairs at the Korean trade ministry.
- Amina C. Mohamed, Kenya
Mohamed served as Kenya’s foreign affairs and international trade minister between 2013 and 2018. In this role, she chaired the 2015 WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi — the first African to lead the highest WTO forum.
- Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
He is currently a minister advising the royal court on international and local economic strategic matters in Saudi Arabia. Prior to becoming a minister, he worked in banking.
- Liam Fox, United Kingdom
Fox is a former U.K. secretary of state for international trade and currently a lawmaker at the U.K. Parliament. He supports updating and reforming the WTO.
Source/Image Credit: World Trade Organization
