Seven candidates vying to become next WTO chief

GENEVA • Seven candidates are vying to become the next head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - an institution which faced mammoth challenges even before the pandemic-driven global economic crisis struck.

The window to enter the race slammed shut yesterday, in a sped-up contest to replace the outgoing WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo - the Brazilian career diplomat who is stepping down one year early at the end of next month.

The seven candidates in the running are from Britain, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria and South Korea.

The new chief must revive stalled trade talks, lay the ground for next year's ministerial conference - one of the WTO's major events - and thaw relations with Washington.

The United States, which has threatened to leave the WTO, has blocked the organisation's dispute settlement appeal system since December and wants China moved up from the developing economies category.

In a surprise move in mid-May, Mr Azevedo, 62, announced that he would end his second four-year term early for personal reasons, forcing the Geneva-based WTO's 164 member states to come up with a successor in just three months instead of the usual nine.

Rather than an election, the procedure for selecting the next WTO boss relies on finding consensus, with candidates gradually being eliminated in turn.

A vote is possible as a measure of last resort, but that scenario has never occurred.

In 1999, when countries could not decide between two runners, both candidates each served a three-year term.

The next incumbent faces a tough task, with the WTO caught in the middle of rising tensions between the US and China.

"If the process of choosing the next director-general is heavily politicised, that could block things up," a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse.

The candidates in the running to replace Mr Roberto Azevedo (below right) as WTO director-general are (clockwise from left) former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Moldovan politician Tudor Ulianovschi; Kenyan Sports Minister Amina Mohamed; former diplomat Hamid Mamdouh; former British trade secretary Liam Fox, former WTO deputy chief Jesus Seade Kuri and South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee. PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

If a consensus cannot be reached in time, one of the four deputy directors-general will take the reins in September on a caretaker basis.

The seven candidates are South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee; former British trade secretary Liam Fox; Kenyan former foreign minister Amina Mohamed; former WTO deputy director-general Jesus Seade Kuri from Mexico; former Nigerian foreign and finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Egyptian former diplomat Hamid Mamdouh; and former Moldovan foreign minister Tudor Ulianovschi.

Of the directors-general since the WTO was created in 1995, three have been from Europe, while there has been one each from Oceania, Asia and South America.

There has never been a WTO leader from Africa and the continent fancies its chances this time, even though there is no regional rotation principle at the global trade body.

However, African nations have so far failed to convene around a single candidate.

Expecting the contest to come next year, the African Union had given early official backing to three figures, among them Mr Mamdouh, a veteran former senior WTO official. Mr Mamdouh, 67, who is also a Swiss national, was the only one to declare his candidacy.

Nigeria's decision to field Ms Okonjo-Iweala against him has triggered a legal dispute with the African Union. Ms Okonjo-Iweala, 66, who chairs the board of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, said she was receiving "tremendous support".

Kenya's Sports Minister, Ms Mohamed, 58, has also previously served as chair of the WTO general council and first ran for the post in 2013. She threw her hat in the ring just before nominations closed, meaning there are three women and three Africans in the contest.

Ms Yoo, 53, is the other female candidate.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday that Britain will nominate Mr Fox, the former trade secretary, as its candidate.

The youngest contender is 37-year-old Mr Ulianovschi, while Mr Seade, at 73, is the oldest.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 09, 2020, with the headline Seven candidates vying to become next WTO chief. Subscribe