The nomination period for those seeking to become the next Director General of the WTO closed Wednesday with eight candidates – Jesus Seade Kuri (Mexico); Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria); Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt); Tudor Ulianovschi (Moldova); Yoo Myung0hee (South Korea); Amina C. Mohamed (Kenya); Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri (Saudi Arabia); and Liam Fox (UK).
The listing of five men and three women all have trade and/or WTO experience. The WTO has not seen a leader from African nor has it been led by a woman, prompting some to up the odds for a candidate that meets those criteria.
Mexico's Seade and South Korea's Yoo are also seen by some as top-level candidates given their experience on the world trade front.
The WTO is seeking a new leader in the wake of current WTO chief Roberto Azevedo announcing he would leave the post a year early, setting off the process to find a new leader.
The next step will be for the candidates to meet with members at a special General Council meeting July 15-17 where they will present their views and take questions from members.
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