Photo: Credit Above Whispers Samia Hassan Suluhu
Tanzania is set to get its first female president following the death of John Pombe Magufuli on Wednesday night. Samia Hassan Suluhu is set to become the second female head of state in the East African region.
Samia Hassan Suluhu, who became the first female vice-president when Magufuli was elected in 2015 is now set to be sworn in as president.
According to the Tanzania Constitution; “Where the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death, then the Vice-President shall be sworn in and become the President for the unexpired period of the term of five years.”
Suluhu was born in the Sultanate of Zanzibar and after completing her secondary education in 1977, she was employed by the Ministry of Planning and Development as a clerk. Samia Suluhu schooled in Zanzibar and studied statistics at the Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration.
Samia Hassan Suluhu Mzumbe University where she studied Public Administration before joining the Institute of Management for Leaders, Hyderabad in India for a course in management. Later, Samia Hassan Suluhu went to the United Kingdom where she did a postgraduate diploma in economics at the University of Manchester.