On Wednesday, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania announced the demise of her boss and president, John Pombe Magufuli from a heart condition.
On Thursday, she is expected to be sworn in to complete Magufuli’s second term, which started last year.
Below are what you should know about Hassan:
1). Hassan was born on January 27, 1960 in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
2). She stands to make history as the first female president in East Africa when she’s sworn in on Thursday.
3). She attended different schools all over the world starting from the Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration, where she studied Statistics, Mzumbe University, the Institute of Management for Leaders, Hyderabad in India, and University of Manchester.
4). Hassan was first elected as a member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives for Special Seat in 2000.
5). Hassan was elected to the National Assembly in a landslide win in 2010 as the lawmaker representing Makunduchi constituency.
6). 2014, former President Jakaya Kikwete appointed her Minister of State for Union matters for the office of the Vice President.
7). the same year, she was also elected the Vice chairperson for the Constitutional Assembly – the body tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution.
8). July 2015, she became the first female candidate on the ballot of the ruling party in Tanzania when Magufuli picked her as his running mate ahead of the country’s general elections.
9). Hassan is the second female vice-president in East Africa since Uganda’s Specioza Naigaga Wandira who was in office from 1994 to 2003.
10). Hassan is married to Hafidh Ameir and together they have three sons and a daughter, Mwanu Hafidh Ameir, who is a lawmaker.
