President John Pombe Magufuli of Tanzania passed away on Wednesday, March 17, at the age of 61. His death was announced on state television by the country’s Vice President, Samia Suluhu, who said that the late president succumbed to heart complication at 6 p.m. She added that Magufuli was receiving treatment at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. According to Suluhu, Magufuli was first briefly admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute on March 6, but was subsequently discharged. However, she said, he was rushed to Mzena Hospital on March 14 after feeling unwell. Meanwhile, the Vice President announced that the nation will observe 14 days of mourning. President Magufuli’s death comes months after he was sworn-in for a second five-year term. According to news reports, Magufuli was last seen in public at an event in Dar es Salaam on February 27. First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995, Magufuli served in the Cabinet of Tanzania as Deputy Minister of Works from 1995 to 2006, Minister of Lands and Human Settlement from 2006 to 2008, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from 2008 to 2010. He also served as Minister of Works for a second time from 2010 to 2015, before being elected as the fifth President of Tanzania. Magufuli is survived by a wife and two children.
