WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday announced the appointment of four trade expects who would be serving as her deputies in Geneva. In a first, two women were named, as Ms Angela Ellard of the United States and Ms Anabel Gonzalez of Costa Rica, were among her Deputy Director-Generals (DDGs).

Ms Okonjo-Iweala, herself the first woman and first African to lead the global trade body, stressed that this was the "first time in the history of our organisation that half of the DDGs are women."

"This underscores my commitment to strengthening our organisation with talented leaders whilst at the same time achieving gender balance in senior positions. I look forward to welcoming them to the WTO," she added.

The appointments also include Mr Jean-Marie Paugam of France and Mr Xiangchen Zhang of China.

The new DDGs replace Mr Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria, Mr Karl Brauner of Germany, Mr Alan Wolff of the United States and Mr Yi Xiaozhun of China.

The deputies will take charge of four or five fields at the WTO, such as legal affairs, agriculture and commodities, market access and development.

Ms Ellard is a Capitol Hill heavy hitter, having served in the US Congress as a majority and minority chief trade counsel. She is a recognised expert on trade and international economic policy, negotiating trade agreements and supporting multilateral solutions as part of an effective trade and development policy.

Ms Gonzalez, a former foreign trade minister, is a renowned global expert on trade, investment and economic development with a managerial track record in international organisations and the public sector. She has served as a senior director at the World Bank and as the WTO director of the agriculture and commodities division.

Mr Paugam has held senior positions in the French economy and finance ministry, and was most recently Permanent Representative of France to the WTO. He has accumulated a deep and practical knowledge of government practices on trade as well as being familiar with high-level dialogues on trade and international economic operations.

Mr Zhang is currently serving as China’s Vice Minister of Commerce and was until recently Beijing’s Permanent Representative to the WTO. He has long and extensive experience on WTO issues, international negotiations, and policy research.