Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli is dead from heart complications at Mzena Hospital in Dar Es Salaam.
He was 61.
Vice President Samia Suluhu announced on Wednesday March 17, 2021 at 6 p.m.
“With deep shock, we announce that today, March 17, 2021, at around 6pm, we lost our great leader and President of the United Republic of Tanzania, HE Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli due to heart complications at the Muzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam. Plans for the funeral are underway. Our country will be in mourning for 14 days and our flags will fly half mast,” she said.
Taarifa ya Kifo Cha Rais Wa Jamhuri Ya Muungano Wa Tanzania pic.twitter.com/LNi5CtoURm
— Samia Suluhu (@SuluhuSamia) March 17, 2021
First elected to the presidency in 2015, Magufuli was serving a second five-year term won in 2020 election.
John Pombe Magufuli was born on Oct. 29, 1959, in the rural area of Chato in the country’s northwest. Magufuli earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and chemistry at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1988. Much later, in 2009, he earned a doctorate in chemistry from the same university.
