Diplomatist Special Report - Tanzania Tanzania 2018 | Page 9

United Republic
of Tanzania
H.E. Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli
President
H.E. Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli is the fi fth
President of the United Republic of Tanzania. He was
sworn in on 5th November 2015 after he emerged
victorious in the General Elections of Octobe r 25, 2015.
H.E. President Dr. Magufuli is also the current Chairman
of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
His Excellency entered into politics in 1977 when he
joined the CCM, and ventured into elective politics in
1995 when he was fi rst elected Member of Parliament
for Biharamulo East Constituency (now known as Chato
Constituency). He went on to serve the Constituency
for four consecutive terms after winning the subsequent
elections, including the 2000 and 2005 elections in which
he was elected unopposed.
In his fi rst term as a Member of Parliament (1995),
Dr. Magufuli was appointed Deputy Minister for Works.
In 2000, he was promoted to a full Ministerial Position
under the same docket. He also served as Minister for
Lands, Housing, and Human Settlement from 2006 to
2008; Minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries
from 2008 to 2010; and as Minister for Works for a second
time from 2010 to 2015. In 2006, he was Co-Chair of the
Third Session of the World Urban Forum organised by
the UN-HABITAT. As Minister, he demonstrated quality
leadership and is credited with a lot of achievements.
The most outstanding among these was the creation of
the Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS), which ranks
among Africa’s best performing Road Agencies. His
Excellency is the recipient of several awards, including
the Conservation Leadership Award for Outstanding
efforts and Commitment in Promoting Accountability and
Good Governance in Fisheries Sector in Tanzania, and the
Recognition Award in Appreciation of Leadership and
Support towards infrastructure Development.
Prior to entering politics, His Excellency worked
briefly as a Chemistry and Mathematics teacher at
Sengerema Secondary School from 1982 to 1983. Later
on, he worked with the Nyanza Cooperative Union Ltd as
an industrial chemist from 1989 to 1995.
He attended the University of Dar es Salaam where
he studied Bachelor of Science in Education (Chemistry
and Mathematics) from 1985 to 1988. He graduated with
a Master’s Degree in Science (Chemistry) from the same
University along with the University of Salford in the
UK, in 1994. He gained a Doctorate in Chemistry from
the University of Dar es Salaam in 2009. He has authored
several publications, including ‘A new Rate Equation
for Solid State Decompositions and Its Application
to the Decomposition CaCo3’ and ‘The Control and
Management of Heat as Challenge and Opportunity to
Engineers’.
H.E. President Dr. Magufuli was born on the 29th of
October, 1959 in Chato, Tanzania.
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