Hafidh Ameir Hassan, the husband of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has died while undergoing treatment for a heart condition in the country’s semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago, the government has announced.
Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi said Ameir died at around 8 AM local time on Monday at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital. He extended condolences to the president, the bereaved family and the Tanzanian people.
The 80-year-old was buried later that day in Kizimkazi, South Unguja, in accordance with Islamic tradition. The funeral was attended by senior government and religious officials, including Ndejembi, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba and Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi.
On Tuesday, President Hassan received a delegation that delivered a message of condolence from Kenyan President William Ruto. Ruto said the Tanzanian leader had lost “a lifelong companion,” her children a beloved father, and the country “a distinguished son.” Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also expressed solidarity with the president, her family and Tanzanians.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf described Ameir’s death as a “difficult period” for President Samia and her family and wished them “strength, courage and solace.”
“For almost five decades he stood quietly beside her, through every season of her service to Tanzania. A companionship of that depth becomes part of who a person is. To lose it is to lose a portion of oneself, and I feel for her deeply,” Nigerian President Bola Tinubu also wrote on X.
Born in Zanzibar in 1946, Ameir married Samia in 1978 and largely remained outside the political spotlight. They had four children, including Wanu Hafidh Ameir, a member of Zanzibar’s House of Representatives. Ameir worked as a teacher before becoming an agricultural specialist. He studied agricultural machinery engineering in Britain and worked for Zanzibar’s Agriculture Ministry until retiring in 2005. He later taught at Kizimbani Agricultural College.
He became Tanzania’s first gentleman when Samia assumed office in 2021 following the death of then-President John Magufuli. Samia became the country’s first female president and secured a second term in a disputed election last year.