Samia Suluhu Hassan

Samia Suluhu Hassan ( SAH-mee-ah soo-LOO-hoo HA-san; born 27 January 1960) is a Tanzanian politician and the sixth president of Tanzania, serving since 19 March 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the position and previously served as vice-president of Tanzania from 2015 to 2021, from which she ascended to the presidency following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

A native of Zanzibar, Suluhu served as a minister in the semi-autonomous region from 2000 to 2010. She then served as the Member of Parliament for the Makunduchi constituency from 2010 to 2015 and was 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. Suluhu became Tanzania's first female vice-president following the 2015 general election, after being elected on the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ticket with Magufuli. Suluhu and Magufuli were re-elected to a second term in 2020.

As president, Suluhu implemented policies intended to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania, which Magufuli had denied was a serious issue. Other focuses of her presidency have included the expansion of infrastructure and the globalisation of the Tanzanian economy through investors and tourism.

In the 2025 Tanzanian general election, her CCM government banned the main opposition party, Chadema, from taking part; the leader of the party, Tundu Lissu, was charged with treason and arrested. The election was marred with electoral violence and irregularities, which led to protests. Early in her presidency she had a positive image as a reformer, but by 2024, ahead of the October 2025 election, she dropped the reformist image. As of 2026, her rule is increasingly viewed by scholars, independent right observers and media as being authoritarian, with Tanzania sliding deeper into a dictatorial-style of governance.