<span style="color: #222222;">Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and first African to be appointed as the head of the World Trade Organization, yesterday.<br />''<br />''The appointment, which takes effect from March 1, came after U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed her candidacy.  Okonjo-Iweala has been Nigeria's finance minister and, briefly, foreign minister, and has had a 25-year career at the World Bank as an advocate for economic growth and development in poorer countries.<br />''<br />''Sixty Six years old Okonjo-Iweala has a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</span><br />