NGOZI OKONJA IWEALA LISTED AMONGST WORLD'S 50 GREATEST LEADERS

Nigeria’s own very Dr Ngozi Okonja- Iweala and Minister of Finance has been named one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world by Fortune Magazine.

Okonjo-Iweala was recognised alongside Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; Pope Francis, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi; Bill and Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerburg; and Mr. Tom Cook.

The development was confirmed by a statement on Thursday by the Ministry of Finance, adding that the finance minister was named 33rd on the list.

The magazine described her as “a fearless promoter of sound economic policies” and singled her out for working hard to usher in a decade in which Nigeria’s gross domestic products trebled.

Fortune Magazine identifies men and women in various spheres of life, who, through their activities in government, business and philanthropy, have transformed lives and this is done annually.

In compiling the 2015 list, the magazine explained that it gathered information from more than 24 of the world’s best minds.

The leaders were judged by their actions within their professional domains, industries or governance.

The magazine said, “To make this roster, it was not enough to be brilliant, admirable or even supremely powerful, but “to find singular leaders with vision who moved others to act as well, and who brought their followers with them on a shared quest. We looked out for effectiveness and commitment and for the courage to pioneer”

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, a former Managing Director of The World Bank Group between December 2007 and August 2011, hails from Ugwashie-Ukwu of Delta State. She graduated from Harvard University in 1976. She holds a Ph.D in Development Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born June 13, 1954) was appointed in July 2011 as the Minister of Finance for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She is notable for being the first woman to hold the positions of the Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigera. As Nigeria’s two-time Finance Minister, Dr  Okonjo-Iweala is credited with helping to lay the foundation for Nigeria’s economy, currently the biggest in Africa with a $510 billion GDP.