Who runs Tanzania

Tanzania is a union of two countries: Tanganyika, on the mainland, and Zanzibar, which joined it on 26 April 1964 (how the union was made). The union kept two governments. The constitution names them as the Government of the United Republic and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, each with its own judiciary, and two legislatures, the Parliament of the United Republic and Zanzibar's House of Representatives.

The constitution lists the Union matters in its First Schedule. The Union government runs those for the whole country; defence and security and the registration of political parties are among them. Everything not on the list is a non-Union matter: for the mainland the Union government handles it, and for Zanzibar the Revolutionary Government does.

The country is divided into 26 regions on the mainland and five in Zanzibar.

The president is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief. The term is five years, and no one may be elected more than twice. The first president the two-term limit applied to was Ali Hassan Mwinyi, in 1995.

The vice-president is elected with the president, as the president's running mate, and is the president's principal assistant. If a president dies in office the vice-president succeeds: Samia Suluhu Hassan became president this way on 19 March 2021, two days after John Magufuli's death.

The prime minister is appointed by the president from the party with a majority in the National Assembly, and must be confirmed by a vote of the Assembly. The prime minister runs the government's business from day to day and is its leader in parliament.

Until 1995 there were two vice-presidents, a First and a Second, and one of them was the president of Zanzibar. Since the 1995 elections there has been a single vice-president.

Parliament is the president and the National Assembly (Bunge). Its members are the MPs elected in constituencies, special seats for women, five members chosen by Zanzibar's House of Representatives, the Attorney General, and up to ten members nominated by the president. The Assembly sits in Dodoma.

The Speaker is Mussa Azzan Zungu, MP for Ilala, elected on 11 November 2025 at the first sitting of the 13th Parliament. The Chief Justice is George Mcheche Masaju, in office since 15 June 2025. The Attorney General is Hamza Johari.

Parliament moved its sittings to Dodoma, but Dar es Salaam is still the largest city and the business capital. The decision to make Dodoma the capital was taken in 1973; the Dodoma guide tells that story.

Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961 with the British queen as head of state, and a republic on 9 December 1962 with Julius Nyerere as its first president. He stayed president of the United Republic from 1964 until he stepped down in 1985.

The multi-party system came back in 1992, and every president since Benjamin Mkapa has been elected in a multi-party election. The most recent general election was held on 29 October 2025, and Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in for a second term on 3 November 2025.

Before 1995 there were two vice-presidents. Until 1985 the First Vice-President was the president of Zanzibar; from 1985 the First Vice-President was the prime minister and the Second was the president of Zanzibar. Since 1995 there has been one vice-president.

Emmanuel Nchimbi resigned as vice-president on 25 August 2026. The president nominated Deogratius Ndejembi, then Minister for Energy; the National Assembly approved him unanimously on 28 August 2026, and he was sworn in the next day.

Tanganyika had a prime minister at independence: Julius Nyerere, then Rashidi Kawawa for most of 1962. The office ended when Tanganyika became a republic, and was restored for the United Republic on 17 February 1972, again with Kawawa. Edward Sokoine died in office in April 1984, in his second term.

Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963 under its sultan, who was overthrown in the revolution of 12 January 1964. Since then Zanzibar has had its own president, who chairs the Revolutionary Council, Zanzibar's cabinet.

The president named the second-term cabinet on 17 November 2025. Since then there have been four sets of changes. On 8 January 2026 Patrobas Katambi became Minister for Home Affairs, Paul Makonda Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, and Palamagamba Kabudi Minister of State for Special Duties in the President's Office. William Lukuvi, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, died on 25 March 2026, and on 2 April 2026 Kabudi was appointed to his post. After Deogratius Ndejembi became vice-president, the president announced on 27 September 2026 that Juma Homera would move to Energy, Abdallah Ulega to Constitutional and Legal Affairs, and Masanja Kadogosa, formerly head of Tanzania Railways Corporation, would become Minister for Works; the three were sworn in on 1 October 2026.

Each ministry also has one or more deputy ministers, not listed here.