Okonjo-Iweala mourns Luísa Dias Diogo, first female Prime Minister of Mozambique
Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed deepest condolences to the family of the first woman Prime Minister of Mozambique, HE Luísa Dias Diogo whose death has been announced.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, a former Finance Minister of Nigeria, also commiserated with President Daniel Chapo and the people of Mozambique on the demise of Madam Diogo, who before becoming Prime Minister of Mozambique (2004-2010) had served her country as Minister of Planning and Finance.
In a post on her X (former Twitter) platform, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said: “I mourn the passing of a sister and dear friend HE Luísa Dias Diogo former Prime Minister of Mozambique. My deepest condolences to her family, to the President @daniel_chapo24 and the people of Mozambique.
“Luisa and I were sister Finance ministers (2003-2005) when very few women were finance ministers. She soon also became Prime Minister in 2004, the first female PM in her country. She was smart, wise, strategic, dignified and humble. I shall miss her. May her soul rest in perfect peace.”
An economist by profession, having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, and a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London, Madam Diogo, who passed on at the age of 68 in Lisbon, Portugal after an illness, among other strategic roles she played around the world, was a Board Member and Advisor to the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.
She was recognised globally for how she reconstructed and transformed the economy of her country. For instance, Time magazine recognised her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, while Forbes, in 2006 and 2007 named her as one of the world’s most influential women.
She is being mourned by the many people and institutions that she positively impacted or inspired in Mozambique, across Africa, and around the world.
