List of heads of state of Tanzania

This is a list of the heads of state of Tanzania, from the independence of Tanganyika in 1961 to the present day.

From 1961 to 1962 the head of state under the Constitution of 1961 was the Queen of Tanganyika, Elizabeth II, who was also the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch was represented in Tanganyika by a governor-general. Tanganyika became a republic within the Commonwealth under the Constitution of 1962 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by an executive president. After the Zanzibar Revolution, which overthrew the Sultanate of Zanzibar in January 1964, the People's Republic of Zanzibar united with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was later renamed to the United Republic of Tanzania.

Monarch (1961–1962)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Reign			Royal House	Prime minister(s)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Royal House	Prime minister(s)
1		Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)	9 December 1961	9 December 1962	1 year	Windsor	Nyerere Kawawa

Governor-general

The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in Tanganyika and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Tanganyika was granted independence by the Tanganyika Independence Act 1961 (10 & 11 Eliz. 2. c. 1), rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous dominion and later promoted to independence as defined by the Statute of Westminster 1931, the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Tanganyika without the involvement of the British government. As Tanganyika became a republic before Richard Turnbull, the former colonial governor, was replaced, this has never happened. In the event of a vacancy the chief justice would have served as the officer administering the government.

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Monarch	Prime minister(s)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Monarch	Prime minister(s)
1		Sir Richard Turnbull (1909–1998)	9 December 1961	9 December 1962	1 year	Elizabeth II	Nyerere Kawawa

Republic (1962–present)

Political parties

Tanganyika African National Union (TANU)

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

Symbols

^† Died in office

President of Tanganyika

Under the Constitution of 1962, the first constitution of the Republic of Tanganyika, the president replaced the monarch as executive head of state. In the event of a vacancy the Vice-President of Tanganyika served as acting president.

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
1		Julius Nyerere (1922–1999)	1962	9 December 1962	29 October 1964	1 year, 325 days	TANU

President of Tanzania

Under the Constitution of 1964, the first constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the president replaced the president of Tanganyika and the president of Zanzibar as executive head of state. The president was elected by a yes-or-no confirmation referendum for a five-year term after being nominated by a TANU/CCM electoral college. Following the restoration of a multi-party system in 1992, multi-candidate elections were introduced in 1995, with the president elected via First-past-the-post voting.^[1] In the event of a vacancy the vice-president serves as president for the remainder of the presidential term.

Former president John Magufuli took a monthly salary of 9 million Tanzanian shillings (approximately USD $4,000).^[2]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Prime minister(s)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party	Prime minister(s)
1		Julius Nyerere (1922–1999)	1965 1970 1975	1 November 1964	5 November 1985	21 years, 4 days	TANU (until 1977)	Kawawa
		Julius Nyerere (1922–1999)	1980	1 November 1964	5 November 1985	21 years, 4 days	CCM	Kawawa Sokoine Msuya Sokoine Salim
2		Ali Hassan Mwinyi (1925–2024)	1985 1990	5 November 1985	23 November 1995	10 years, 18 days	CCM	Warioba Malecela Msuya
3		Benjamin Mkapa (1938–2020)	1995 2000	23 November 1995	21 December 2005	10 years, 28 days	CCM	Msuya Sumaye
4		Jakaya Kikwete (born 1950)	2005 2010	21 December 2005	5 November 2015	9 years, 319 days	CCM	Sumaye Lowassa Pinda
5		John Magufuli (1959–2021)	2015 2020	5 November 2015	17 March 2021^[†]	5 years, 132 days	CCM	Majaliwa
6		Samia Suluhu Hassan (born 1960)	—	19 March 2021^[3]	Incumbent	3 years, 251 days	CCM	Majaliwa