Tanzania's former Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan took oath on Friday, March 19, as the sixth president of her country following the death of John Magufuli on March 17.

The swearing-in ceremony took place Friday morning at State House in Dar es Salaam.

She then told the nation that late President Magufuli will be buried on March 25, in his home region of Chato in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita.

By swearing-in as the next Tanzanian leader, Suluhu, 61, has again made history by becoming the first female president in Tanzania and in the East African Community (EAC).

Under the country's constitution, Suluhu will serve the remainder of Magufuli's second five-year term, which expires in 2025.

After swearing-in, she addressed the nation on national media and then proceeded to a meeting with the cabinet.

Reports indicate that she is then likely to pick her Vice President on Saturday during a high-level meeting with her party’s central committee.

A ruling party stalwart, Suluhu rose through the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ranks until she was picked by Magufuli as his running mate in his first presidential election campaign in 2015. 

The CCM won and Suluhu first made history when then became Tanzania's first-ever female Vice President. 

The former office clerk and development worker began her political career in 2000 in her native Zanzibar. Later, she was elected to the national assembly on mainland Tanzania and assigned a senior ministry.

Suluhu, a mother of four, was born on January 27, 1960 in Zanzibar.

Her father was a school teacher and her mother a housewife. 

In 2000, according to reports, she was nominated by the CCM to a special seat in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives. She then served as a local government minister -- first for youth employment, women and children and then for tourism and trade investment.

In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly then-president Jakaya Kikwete appointed her as the Minister of State for Union Affairs.