Confirmed on Friday as Tanzania's first female president following the demise of John Magufuli, Samia Suluhu Hassan, 61, is probably best known for her super-cool, unflappable demeanour and penchant for speaking in a calm manner, whatever the situation. But those who know her better are aware of a ring of steel behind that façade.
“It’s possible that some people take my soft-spoken nature as a sign of weakness,” she told the British Broadcasting Corporation in an interview at her Dar es Salaam residence last March, “but to make them understand you doesn't mean you have to shout. I have been getting my messages across just fine with this same approach all these years. Eventually people understand very well whatever I am intending to tell them.”
