Samia Suluhu Hassan President of Tanzania
The President Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in on 19 March 2021, is the first female and sixth president of the United Republic of Tanzania. She succeeded president John Magufuli following his death on 17 March 2021.
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 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 CCM ticket with President Magufuli. Suluhu and Magufuli were re-elected to a second term in 2020. She briefly served as the second female interim Head of State in the EAC – 27 years after Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi, spanning a period around the end of the year 1993.
As President, Suluhu’s government enacted policies to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania – in contrast to denialism under Magufuli – and made efforts towards political reconciliation with opposition parties.
Her government is proactively engaging with multilateral and bilateral partners in the region and around the world. The Government has also been actively pushing the climate agenda, its commitment reflected in President Samia’s own participation at the COP 26 meetings in Glasgow in 2021.
The role of the private sector as an engine of growth has been given renewed emphasis with increased attention to addressing major constraints on private investment.
In 2022, she was named among the top 100 most influential people in the world by American magazine Time
The Government recently announced the removal of barriers to access to education, including those that had prevented pregnant girls and young mothers from attending formal school, a reflection of the Government’s commitment to supporting girls and young women.
Since taking over the presidential position in 2021, Samia has ensured that the flagship projects that were initiated by the late President Magufuli are completed on time. Besides that, she has also approved new development projects. In 2022, she attended the Expo 2020 to promote Tanzanian products and opportunities which led her to sign a business partnership deal with Dubai.
In early 2021, she filmed a movie of “The Royal Tour” with journalist and filmmaker Peter Greenberg with the intention of promoting tourism and getting different investors to invest in her country. It premiered in Los Angeles, Paramount Theatre, followed by Tanzania.
Source:Wikpidia and Worldbank.org
