Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili is a Nigerian chartered accountant. She is the Co-founder of Transparency Internationl, serving as one of the pioneer Directors of the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany. She served as Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and then as Federal Minister of Education during the second term presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then, she has been the Vice-President of the World Bank’s Africa division.

She holds a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, as well as a Masters of Public Administration from the  Kennedy School of Government, Havard University.  She trained with the firm of Deloitte and Touche and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Prior to working for the Government of Nigeria, Mrs Ezekwesiili was working with Professor Jeffrey Sachs at the Center for International Development at Harvard.

On 1 October 2012, one of the world’s leading telecommunications firm, Bharti Airtel, with operations in 20 countries, named Mrs Ezekwesili as a director on its board. She is also on the boards of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the School of Public Policy of central European University, The Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, New Africa Magazine, The Center for Global Leadership @ Tufts University. In May 2012, Ezekwesili was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSC) degree by the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Nigeria

Career

Senior Economic Advisor – Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative ( June 2012 – till date) Open Society Foundation Newyork USA/ Abuja Nigeria, Vice President World Bank Washington DC (May 2007 – May 2012), Cabinet Minister of Education Federal Government  of  Nigeria (July 2005 – June 2006), Presidential Aide in Charge of Public procurement Reforms Federal Government of Nigeria (Oct. 2002 – July 2005).

Organisations

Independent Director – Bharti Airtel India (Sept. 2012 – present), Director – World Wide Life Form Switzerland ( April 2013 – present), Commissioner – Global Ocean Commission UK ( March 2013 – present), Member of Advisory Board – School of Public Policy, Central European University Hungary ( April 2013 – present), Co-founder – Transparency International Berlin, Germany ( April 1993 – present) and Advisory Board – The Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy Tel Aviv University, Isreal (April 2007 – present)