President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as Tanzanian President this Friday following the death of President John Pombe Magufuli on Wednesday due to a heart disease.
The late President Magufuli, 61, who was first elected in 2015, secured a second five-year term in polls in October last year.
According to Tanzania’s constitution, the vice president serves out the remainder of the term of a president who dies in office.
Samia Suluhu Hassan joins a short list of women on the continent to have run their countries.
The 61-year-old is affectionately known as Mama Samia – in Tanzanian culture that reflects the respect she is held in, rather than reducing her to a gendered role.