Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee made it through on Thursday to the final run-off to lead the World Trade Organization.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, served as her country's first female finance and foreign minister, and has a 25-year career behind her as a development economist at the World Bank.
If she wins, she would become the first African to lead the global trade body.
Yoo, 53, is South Korea's first female trade minister. She has enjoyed a career in trade diplomacy and foreign affairs in which she struck free trade agreements with China and the United States.
"Both of the women in the final round are remarkably well-qualified according to the WTO.
A candidate will be picked before November 7, whoever wins , will take over an organization in the middle of several crises and to help member states handle serious economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.