Samia Suluhu Hassan (born 27 January 1960) is a Tanzanian politician who has been the sixth President of Tanzania since 19 March 2021, having taken office after the death of the previous president, John Magufuli, two days earlier. A member of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, she is the first woman to hold the position in Tanzania and the second to do so in a country within the East African Community, after Sylvie Kinigi, who was the interim head of state of Burundi in 1993. Also, as the Tanzanian presidency is an executive one, Suluhu will be the third female head of government of an EAC member country, after Sylvie Kinigi in Burundi and Agathe Uwilingiyimana in Rwanda.
A native of Zanzibar, Suluhu served as a minister in the semi-autonomous region during the administration of President Amani Karume. She served as the Member of Parliament for Makunduchi constituency from 2010 to 2015, and was also the Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office for Union Affairs from 2010 to 2015. In 2014, she was elected as the Vice Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly tasked with the drafting of the country’s new constitution.
She became Tanzania‘s first female vice-president following the 2015 general election, after being elected on the CCM ticket with President Magufuli. Suluhu and Magufuli were reelected to a second term in 2020.
Early life
Suluhu was born on 27 January 1960 in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
She completed her secondary education in 1977 and began working. Subsequently, she pursued a number of short-courses on a part-time basis. In 1986, she graduated from the Institute of Development Management (present-day Mzumbe University) with an advanced diploma in public administration.
Between 1992 and 1994, she attended the University of Manchester and graduated with a postgraduate diploma in economics. In 2015, she obtained her MSc in Community Economic Development via a joint-programme between the Open University of Tanzania and the Southern New Hampshire University.
Samia Hassan Suluhu Personal Life
Samia is a Muslim be religion, like the majority of the population and Tanzania. She is a mother of four and wife to Ameir Hafidh.
Samia Hassan Suluhu Net Worth and Assets
Samia’s net worth is though to be over $730,000 and information detailing her asset portfolio yet to be made publicly available.
| Real Name | Samia Suluhu Hassan |
| Age | 61 years old as of 2021 |
| Nationality | Tanzania |
| Place of Birth | Sultanate, Zanzibar |
| Children | 4 children |
| Husband | Ameir Hafidh |
| Net worth | $950,000 |
Career
After her secondary school education, she was employed by the Ministry of Planning and Development as a clerk. Upon graduation with her public administration degree, she was employed on a project funded by the World Food Programme.
Political career
In 2000, she decided to run for public office. She was elected as a special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives and was appointed a minister by President Amani Karume. She was the only high-ranking woman minister in the cabinet and was “looked down on” by her male colleagues because of her gender. She was re-elected in 2005 and was re-appointed as a minister in another portfolio.
In 2010, she sought election to the National Assembly, standing in the parliamentary constituency of Makunduchi and winning by more than 80%. President Jakaya Kikwete appointed her as the Minister of State for Union Affairs. In 2014, she was elected as the Vice Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution.
In July 2015, CCM’s presidential nominee John Magufuli chose her as his running mate for the 2015 election, making her the first female running mate in the party’s history. She subsequently became the first female vice-president in the history of the country upon Magufuli’s victory in the election. Both Magufuli and Suluhu were re-elected for a second five-year term on 28 October 2020.
Due to President Magufuli’s death on 17 March 2021, Suluhu, as the vice president, was sworn in as the President on 19 March 2021, and will serve the balance of Magufuli’s second five-year term. Following her swearing in, Suluhu formally became the sixth president of Tanzania. She also became the first woman to hold the office in the country. She also became the second Zanzibarian, after Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who served from 1985 to 1995, and the third Muslim after Mwinyi and Jakaya Kikwete. She also became one of two serving female heads of state in Africa, alongside Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde.
Personal life
In 1978, Suluhu married Hafidh Ameir, at present a retired agricultural officer. They have four children. Her daughter Mwanu Hafidh Ameir (born 1982), the couple’s second child, is a special seat member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives.
