FOUR years after ending her 21-year-career at the World Bank to take up appointment as Nigeria's Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will from December 1, this year return to the global financial institution as a Managing Director.

Okonjo-Iweala, a princess from Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, who left the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in controversial circumstances in 2006, will join El Savador's Juan Jose Daboub and New Zealand's Graeme Wheeler in that capacity.

The World Bank's president Robert Bruce Zoellick announced Okonjo-Iweala' s appointment yesterday.

The president and three managing directors are joined at the top level of the bank's management by executive Vice Presidents Lars Thunell of Sweden and Japan's Yukiko Omura, as well as Chief Financial Officer Vincenzo La Via from Italy.

With the appointment, Nigeria has produced yet another citizen at the helm of the World Bank group. Former Education Minister, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili is the bank's Vice President in charge of Africa.

In her new position, Okonjo-Iweala, born on June 13, 1954, will have responsibility for Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe. She will also take oversight responsibility for Human Resources with four Vice Presidents of the bank reporting to her.

Her appointment takes effect from December 1.

Her father, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo is a retired professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan and the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku. Her mother, Kamene, is also a retired professor of Sociology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), while her husband, Dr. Ikemba Iweala is a United States (U.S.)-based neuro-surgeon.

Making the announcement, Zoellick said: "Ngozi brings a unique set of skills and experience to the World Bank Group (WBG). As an outstanding Minister of Finance and Foreign Minister in Nigeria, Ngozi helped lead the country's reform programme on issues of fiscal prudence, transparency of government accounts, good governance, and anti-corruption. "

The World Bank President continued: "She led Nigeria's quest for debt relief and helped her country obtain an unprecedented $18 billion write-off from the Paris Club. Ngozi was also instrumental in helping Nigeria obtain its first-ever Sovereign Credit rating (of BB minus) from Fitch and Standard & Poor's. She is an internationally respected world leader."

Zoellick stated further: "In addition, she knows the WBG well from her 21 years of service. Her commitment to the developing world is unparalleled. I am delighted she has accepted to join my senior team."

Okonjo-Iweala is founder of NOI-Gallup polls, an indigenous Nigerian opinion research organisation, and co-founder of the Makeda Fund - a fund to invest in African women entrepreneurs. She is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution. From 2003-2006, she served as Finance Minister and subsequently Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria. As Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala led Nigeria's economic team responsible for implementing the Obasanjo administration' s far-reaching economic and social reform agenda. The reforms made particular progress in restoring macro-economic stability, tripling growth, initiating a strong fight against corruption, and increasing transparency.

Before taking up her ministerial appointment, Okonjo-Iweala served in a number of important positions at the World Bank including Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Director of Operations in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Country Director for the South East Asia and Mongolia Country unit. She joined the World Bank in 1982.

Accepting the appointment, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said: "I am delighted to be coming back, and I welcome the opportunity to work through this great institution to make a difference in the lives of our youth, and our hardworking men and women in the developing world. I particularly look forward to working with President Zoellick as he maps out exciting new paths for the World Bank Group."

Okonjo-Iweala is a recipient of numerous awards and honours including Time Magazine European Hero 2004, Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, ThisDay Nigeria Minister of the Year 2004, 2005, Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colby College 2007, and Brown University 2006, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica. She is a member or chair of numerous boards and advisory groups in the public, private and non-governmental sectors, including DATA, the World Resources Institute, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nelson Mandela Institution and the African Institutes of Science and Technology, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Governance Prize Committee, Friends of the Global Fund Africa. She is also an adviser to the World Bank on the Stolen Assets Recovery (STAR) initiative, and served as a member of the Malan Committee on Bank-Fund collaboration.

Okonjo-Iweala graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.