Former Tanzanian Foreign Minister and Diplomat, Bernard Membe has passed away on Friday May 12, 2023 at the age of 69.
He was rushed to Kairuki Hospital in Dar es Salaam, where he later died.
The cause of his death has not been communicated. Membe was a former Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2015 under President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
Following his death, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences and wrote on her Twitter handle that she had received the news with profound sadness.
She praised Membe, stating that he had been a brilliant public servant, diplomat, Member of Parliament, and Minister who had served the country professionally for over 40 years.
Membe had a long and impressive political career, starting with his election as a CCM Member of Parliament representing Mtama constituency in the 2000 general election.
He also served as a national security analyst at the President’s Office from 1978 to 1989, and later studied international relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. Membe was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party from 2007 and was re-elected in 2012 at the 8th CCM Congress in Dodoma.
