Okonjo-Iweala makes Fortune’s 50 Greatest World Leaders’ List

Okonjo-Iweala was recognized alongside others such as Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Pope Francis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Bill and Melinda Gates, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerburg and Apple CEO Tom Cook.

The minister was described as “a fearless promoter of sound economic policies.” She was also singled out for working hard to usher in a decade in which the country’s GDP trebled.

She was named 33rd on the list. Fortune Magazine’s annual list celebrates men and women who are transforming lives in all spheres, including government, business and philanthropy. In compiling the 2015 list, the magazine explained that it gathered advice from more than 24 of the world’s best minds.

The leaders were judged by their actions within their professional domains, industries or governance. According to the magazine, “to make this roster, it was not enough to be brilliant, admirable or even supremely powerful.

It continued, “we set out 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 for effectiveness and commitment and for the courage to pioneer.”Okonjo-Iweala graduated from Harvard in 1976 and holds a Ph.D in Development Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – 1981.

As two-time Finance Minister of Nigeria, she has helped to lay a solid foundation for the Nigeria economy, which is currently the biggest in Africa at $510 billion.

Tweet