John Magufuli

His Excellency John Magufuli
Magufuli in 2015
5th President of Tanzania
In office 5 November 2015 – 17 March 2021
Prime Minister	Kassim Majaliwa
Vice President	Samia Suluhu
Preceded by	Jakaya Kikwete
Succeeded by	Samia Suluhu
Chairman of Southern African Development Community
In office 17 August 2019 – 17 August 2020
Preceded by	Hage Geingob
Succeeded by	Filipe Nyusi
Minister of Works, Transport and Communications
In office 28 November 2010 – 5 November 2015
Prime Minister	Mizengo Pinda
Preceded by	Shukuru Kawambwa
Succeeded by	Makame Mbarawa
In office November 2000 – 21 December 2005
Prime Minister	Frederick Sumaye
Succeeded by	Basil Mramba
Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development
In office 13 February 2008 – 6 November 2010
Prime Minister	Mizengo Pinda
Preceded by	Anthony Diallo
Succeeded by	David Mathayo David
Minister of Lands and Human Settlements
In office 6 January 2006 – 13 February 2008
Prime Minister	Edward Lowassa
Succeeded by	John Chiligati
Member of Parliament for Biharamulo East and Chato
In office November 1995 – July 2015
Succeeded by	Medard Kalemani
Personal details
Born	John Pombe Joseph Magufuli (1959-10-29)29 October 1959 Chato, Tanganyika (now Tanzania)
Died	17 March 2021(2021-03-17) (aged 61) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Cause of death	Officially atrial fibrillation,[1] for details see Death
Political party	Chama Cha Mapinduzi
Spouse	Janeth Magufuli
Children	7
Education	University of Dar es Salaam (BS, MS, PhD)
Military service
Allegiance	Tanzania
Branch/service	National Service
Years of service	1983–1984

John Pombe Joseph Magufuli^[2] (29 October 1959 – 17 March 2021)^[3] was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020.^[4][5][6]

First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995, he served in the Cabinet of Tanzania as Deputy Minister of Works from 1995 to 2000, Minister of Works from 2000 to 2005, Minister of Lands and Human Settlement from 2006 to 2008, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from 2008 to 2010, and as Minister of Works for a second time from 2010 to 2015.^[7]

Running as the candidate of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the country's dominant party, Magufuli won the October 2015 presidential election and was sworn in on 5 November 2015; he was re-elected in 2020. He ran on a platform of reducing government corruption and spending while also investing in Tanzania's industries, but his rule had autocratic tendencies, as seen in restrictions on freedom of speech, restrictions on LGBTQ rights, and a crackdown on members of the political opposition and civil society groups.^[8][9] Despite all the accusations, a spokesman for the ruling party assured that Magufuli would not remain in power beyond the two limits allowed by the constitution.^[10]

Under his presidency, Tanzania experienced one of the strongest economic growths on the continent (6% on average per year according to the IMF) and moved from the category of lower-low income countries to lower-middle income countries.^[11]

Contrary to leaders elsewhere in the world, Magufuli ordered COVID-19 testing to stop and resisted calls to implement public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania.^[12] He also expressed distrust of American- and European-developed vaccines,^[13] preferring to rely on faith to protect his nation.^[14] Magufuli's approach has been characterised as COVID-19 denialism.^{[15][16][17][18]}

His death on 17 March 2021 was attributed by the government to a long-standing heart issue. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Samia Suluhu.