Samia Suluhu Hassan

Lore & Background

A native of Zanzibar, Suluhu served as a minister in the semi-autonomous region from 2000 to 2010. She was a Member of Parliament for the Makunduchi constituency from 2010 to 2015 and Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office for Union Affairs from 2010 to 2015. In 2014, she was elected vice-chairperson of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the country's new constitution. She became Tanzania's first female vice-president after the 2015 general election, running on the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ticket with John Magufuli. They were re-elected in 2020. As president, she implemented policies to limit the spread of COVID-19, expanded infrastructure, and globalized the Tanzanian economy through investors and tourism.

Reader's Guide

Samia Suluhu Hassan was born in Zanzibar on 27 January 1960. She completed secondary education in 1977 and worked as an office clerk. In 1978, she married Hafidh Ameir; they have three sons and one daughter. She earned an advanced diploma in public administration from the Institute of Development Management (now Mzumbe University) in 1986, a postgraduate diploma in economics from the University of Manchester (1992–1994), and an MSc in Community Economic Development from a joint program between the Open University of Tanzania and Southern New Hampshire University in 2015. She became a development officer in 1988 and later a project manager at the World Food Programme. In the 1990s, she oversaw a body regulating NGOs in Zanzibar. She entered politics in 2000 as a special seat member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives with CCM, becoming Minister for Youth Employment, Women and Children. She ended the prohibition on new mothers returning to school. Re-elected in 2005, she became Minister for Tourism and Trade Investment. In 2010, she won the Makunduchi parliamentary seat and was appointed Minister of State for Union Affairs. In 2014, she was elected Vice-Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly. She became vice-presidential candidate in 2015, an unexpected choice, and was sworn in on 5 November 2015. A dispute with Magufuli arose in 2016, but she publicly supported him. They were re-elected in 2020 amid allegations of fraud. After Magufuli's death, she was sworn in on 19 March 2021. She chose Philip Mpango as vice-president, dismissed Magufuli's closest allies, and restored positions of those removed by Magufuli. She aligned with former president Jakaya Kikwete. She became Tanzania's first female president and the second Zanzibari to hold the post. She was the only female head of government in Africa after being sworn in. The October 2025 election gave her 97.66% of the vote amid accusations of fraud and repression. The African Union's observer mission stated the election did not comply with regional or international standards. Human rights organizations accused her government of authorizing live ammunition against civilians; Chadema claimed up to 1,000 killed. The government denied these claims, calling the death toll exaggerated. She reversed Magufuli's denialist COVID-19 stance, entered Tanzania into COVAX, and imposed quarantines. She pledged to complet

Did You Know?

• She was the first woman to serve as president of Tanzania.
• She was born in Zanzibar and is the second Zanzibari to hold the presidency, after Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
• She earned a postgraduate diploma in economics from the University of Manchester.
• She served as Zanzibar's Minister of Labour, Gender and Children, and later supported policy changes allowing schoolgirl mothers to return to school.
• She became president after the death of John Magufuli on 17 March 2021.