Okonjo-Iweala sworn in as Nigerian Minister of Finance

Mrs Ngozi Iweala
Nigerian Minister of Finance

Okonjo-Iweala sworn in as Nigerian Minister of Finance
Uche Aneke, Abuja

The former Nigerian World Bank Managing Director, Mrs Ngozi Iweala has been sworn in as the Nigerian Minister of Finance.

Mrs Iwealla becomes the last but one minister to be sworn in by President Goodluck  Jonathan in his cabinet.
President Jonathan praised the outstanding qualities of Mrs Iweala and stated that her resignation as the World Bank Managing Director in order to accept the ministerial appointment in Nigeria was a commendable decision.

President Jonathan stated that coordination of the country’s Economic Management team was part of her responsibility.  

Profile

Before her appointment as the Finance Minister, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was the Managing Director of the World Bank, responsible for Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.

Until she resumed duties at the Bank in December 2007, she was a Distinguished Fellow of the Brookings Institution, a leading think-tank based Washington DC, USA.

She previously held the posts of Minister of Finance and of Foreign Affairs in the Nigerian Government. Prior to her appointment in government, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala 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 was educated at Harvard and has a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Nigerian Finance Minister has received numerous awards, including an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brown University in 2006, European Time Magazine Hero of the Year award in 2004 for her work on economic reform in Nigeria and Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year 2005.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala is a member of numerous boards and advisory groups, including the Clinton Global Initiative, DATA and the World Resources Institute.

She serves as financial adviser to several international investment groups working in emerging markets.

Williams