Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has died while undergoing treatment at Zanzibar’s Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital. Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi announced that Ameir, who had a heart condition, passed away at 8:00 am local time (06:00 GMT) on Monday, with funeral preparations now underway in his home village of Kizimkazi on the island.
Ameir, an agricultural academic, kept a notably low public profile and rarely appeared alongside the president at official functions, despite becoming Tanzania’s first-ever First Gentleman when Samia took office in 2021. Ndejembi led tributes, extending condolences to the president and the family, while Kenyan President William Ruto also expressed condolences, calling Ameir a lifelong companion to Samia, a beloved father, and a “distinguished son” of Tanzania. “President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote.
Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye also sent condolences to President Hassan and the people of Tanzania. Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema also shared his condolences, saying that they “stand side by side” with the first family, and all of Tanzania during “this difficult time”.
Ameir married Samia in 1978, well before her political career began. The couple raised four children, three sons and a daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, who now sits in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.
