WTO appoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as new Director General

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has become the first female and first African to lead the World Trade Organisation.

The WTO faces a number of challenges - not least the question of whether or not it remains relevant, and whether it can fix fissures and tensions within the global trading system. However, given her background in the World Bank and as Nigeria's Finance Minister, she seems well-equipped to deal with anything thrown at her.

The Financial Times has this excellent profileon the new DG of the World Trade Organisation

And here she is in a much-lauded TED talk on challenges and opportunities facing the African continental economy.