Samia Suluhu Hassan

Political career

In 2000, Suluhu became a special seat member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives with the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, where she was appointed Zanzibar's Minister for Youth Employment, Women and Children. While in this position, she ended the prohibition on new mothers returning to school. She was the only high-ranking woman minister in the cabinet and was treated less seriously by her male colleagues because she was a woman. She was re-elected in 2005 and was appointed as Minister for Tourism and Trade Investment.

In 2010, Suluhu 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.

Suluhu was the vice-presidential candidate for the CCM in the 2015 general election, along with presidential candidate John Magufuli. She was an unexpected choice, as several more prominent and influential politicians were passed on for the role. She was the first female running mate in the party's history. They won the election, and they were sworn in on 5 November 2015. Suluhu became the first female Vice-President of Tanzania. A dispute emerged between Magufuli and Suluhu in 2016 in which questions of her loyalty were raised, but Suluhu then made public statements in support of Magufuli. Magufuli and Suluhu were re-elected in the 2020 general election, though the victory was called into question after allegations of electoral fraud by independent observers.

President of Tanzania

Ascension and swearing in

On 17 March 2021, Suluhu announced that Magufuli had died after a long illness; Magufuli had not been seen in public since late February. She was sworn in on 19 March 2021 to serve the remainder of his second term. Opposition leaders had expressed concern about a possible vacuum when 18 March passed without Suluhu being sworn in. Out of public view, there was an effort by factions of the party to prevent her from becoming president, and she was the last of the senior government officials to be briefed on Magufuli's death. Immediately after being sworn in, Suluhu inspected troops at a military parade in her honour. In her first statement as president, she declared three weeks of mourning for Magufuli's death.

Suluhu chose Minister of Finance Philip Mpango as her vice-president. To strengthen her position in the government, she dismissed Magufuli's closest allies, including Bashiru Ally and Palamagamba Kabudi. She also restored the positions of people who had been removed by Magufuli, such as January Makamba, Nape Nnauye, and Abdulrahman Kinana. Suluhu expanded her influence over the party by aligning with former president Jakaya Kikwete.

Upon her swearing-in, Suluhu became Tanzania's first female president and the second Zanzibari to hold the post, after Ali Hassan Mwinyi. She became one of only two serving female heads of state in Africa at the time she was sworn in, alongside Ethiopia's Sahle-Work Zewde, who held only a ceremonial role. She was the only female head of government in Africa after she was sworn in.

The October 2025 election, which consolidated Samia Suluhu Hassan's power with 97.66% of the vote, was marred by accusations of massive fraud and a severe repression of opposition protests. The African Union's observer mission stated the election "did not comply" with regional or international standards, citing irregularities and the internet shutdown.

Numerous human rights organizations accused her government of authorizing the use of live ammunition against civilians. The main opposition party, Chadema, claimed it had documented up to 1,000 people killed, labelling the acts as crimes against humanity. The government denied these claims; while President Hassan acknowledged deaths occurred, her government called the opposition's death toll "hugely exaggerated".

Presidential administration

The COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing when Suluhu became president. She reversed the denialist position on the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania held by Magufuli, and she entered Tanzania into the COVAX program to begin distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in July 2021. Mandatory 14-day quarantines for travellers entering Tanzania from countries with cases of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 were imposed. Suluhu permitted embassies and other international organisations to import vaccines into the country to vaccinate foreign nationals for their Tanzanian day-to-day work, aided by the Ministry of Health.

Since becoming president, Suluhu has pledged to see that the flagship development projects that were initiated by Magufuli are completed on time. She has also approved new development projects. Projects that she prioritised include establishing a railway line, building a hydropower plant, and making electricity and clean water available in rural Tanzania.

Suluhu filmed a movie, The Royal Tour, with journalist and filmmaker Peter Greenberg in early 2021 with the intention of promoting tourism and getting investors interested in Tanzania. Suluhu became the fifth African woman to address the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021. She reorganised her presidential cabinet in January 2022 to ensure that it was populated by loyalists, while she gradually removed those who had served under Magufuli.

Suluhu adopted a more internationalist approach rather than the isolationism of her predecessor, and she has sought to entice both investors and tourists. In 2022, she attended the Expo 2020 to promote Tanzanian products and opportunities which led her to sign a business partnership deal with Dubai. Suluhu took a neutral stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying that they should negotiate peace and that "we don't know why they are fighting".

In 2022, Suluhu was named among the top 100 most influential people in the world by American magazine Time. By 2024, she began appealing to the supporters of her predecessor by appointing Magufuli loyalists like Doto Biteko and Paul Makonda to government positions.

On 20 September 2023, Suluhu joined the Advisory Board of the Global Center on Adaptation following the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

Style of governance

Writers for France 24, The New York Times, and New Internationalist have all described Suluhu as "soft-spoken". Suluhu herself has referenced her quiet demeanour. Al-Jazeera correspondent Catherine Wambua-Soi described a collaborative nature in Suluhu's approach to government, saying that she consults her advisors instead of making unilateral decisions. BBC News cited a comparison to Magufili's predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete, who similarly engaged in diplomacy with the opposition instead of repression. Suluhu is sometimes known as Mama Samia, a name meant to indicate reverence. Suluhu has emphasised her femininity as part of her presidency, describing it as a factor in her attempts to create a culture of political unity.

When she became president, Suluhu was seen by the public and outside observers as a more democratically-inclined alternative to Magufuli, who had developed a reputation as an authoritarian. After taking office, Suluhu took measures to increase freedom of speech and freedom of the press to reverse Magufuli's policies and to improve Tanzania's global image. These included releasing political prisoners, meeting with opposition leaders, and reopening newspapers that were shut down for criticising the government. She also lifted a ban on political rallies in 2023, which her predecessor had implemented to stifle the opposition.

Drift to authoritarian tendencies

Samia Suluhu Hassan's style of governance is described by observers as having taken an authoritarian drift, particularly marked by the severe repression of the post-election unrest in October 2025. According to UN reports, the security forces' response to the protests resulted in hundreds of deaths, injuries, and mass detentions, amid allegations of live ammunition being used against civilians. Observers warn that this repression and pattern of abuses could, subject to investigation and legal assessment, amount to mass atrocities or crimes against humanity.

Opposition leaders and activists have been arrested under her tenure and at least one has been found dead; protests have erupted against the alleged disappearing and killings of government critics by the security forces, leading to more arrests. The Economist wrote in 2025 that Tanzania was experiencing "state brutality", with "scores" of opposition figures disappearing.

Suluhu has faced criticism for not challenging many authoritarian laws and practices. She chose not to seek widely demanded amendments to the constitution when she took office, citing the poor state of the economy. Following the release of Freeman Mbowe and his immediate conversation with Suluhu, his first appearance days later was at the International Women's Day event in Iringa in 2022. This caused critics to accuse Suluhu of releasing Mbowe on condition of support for Western feminist policies. Suluhu's meetings and reconciliation with opposition leaders have conversely received criticism within her own party.

The government's crackdown following the October 2025 election culminated in Hassan being designated "Tyrant of the Year 2025" by the advocacy organization Index on Censorship in January 2026, following a public vote. The designation was attributed to the scale of the post-election repression and the government's use of a nationwide internet shutdown to restrict information. Specific reports from Amnesty International highlighted atrocities in Mbeya and Mwanza, including allegations of security forces entering private residences to conduct extrajudicial executions and the subsequent use of mass graves to dispose of casualties. These events led human rights observers to describe her tenure as a definitive departure from her initial "pro-democracy" rhetoric.

Reelection campaign

In January 2025, CCM nominated Suluhu as its presidential candidate for the 2025 Tanzanian general election in October. On 27 August, the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) approved her candidacy, soon after opposition candidate Luhaga Mpina was barred from running by the INEC and the Registrar of Political Parties. The major opposition party Chadema was also barred from participation in the election. Protests were held in October, endorsed by Mange Kimambi, causing a military crackdown and Internet connectivity has been intermittent. In November, it was announced that she had won the election with 97% of the vote. She was sworn into office on 3 November at a ceremony that was closed to the public.

Suluhu will not be eligible for a second full term in 2030. Under the Tanzanian Constitution, if a vice-president ascends to the presidency with more than three years remaining in the term, they are only eligible for one full five-year term.

Honours, awards and recognition

Honours

Awards

• 2022: Africa Road Builders – Babacar Ndiaye Trophy
• 2022: CARE International – CARE Impact Award for Women's Inspirational Leadership
• 2023: Key to the City of Lilongwe
• 2023: Ranked in Forbes list of "World's 100 most powerful women".
• 2025: International Military Sports Council Order of Merit (Grand Cordon)

Honorary academic awards