President

Hon. Dr. Tulia Ackson was born on 23 November 1976 in Bulyaga Ward, Tukuyu Division, Rungwe District, Mbeya Region. Dr. Ackson is the seventh Speaker of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania and the second woman to hold the position. She represents the Mbeya Urban Constituency in Parliament. On 27 October 2023, at the 147th IPU Assembly in Luanda, Angola, she was elected President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Education

Dr. Ackson attended Mabonde Primary School in Tukuyu from 1984 to 1990, Loleza Girls Secondary School in Mbeya from 1991 to 1994, and Zanaki Girls Secondary School in Dar es Salaam from 1995 to 1997, before enrolling in the University of Dar es Salaam in 1998 and graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2001. Dr. Tulia received her Master of Laws (LLM) in 2003 from the University of Dar es Salaam. She passed the Tanzanian Bar Examinations and received a Certificate for Legal Practice in 2004. In 2005, she was admitted to the University of Cape Town for doctoral studies, and she graduated with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Law in 2007.

Professional career

Dr. Ackson began her career in 2001 as a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Dar es Salaam. She was promoted to Assistant Lecturer in law in 2004 after completing her master's degree and then to Lecturer in 2007 after completing her doctorate. In 2009, she was appointed Associate Dean of the University of Dar es Salaam’s School of Law, a position she held for six years before being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011.

Dr. Ackson was appointed to the first Constituent Assembly of Tanzania in February 2014 by Tanzania's Fourth President, Hon. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. In recognition of her outstanding performance as a Presidential Appointee in the Constituent Assembly, President Kikwete appointed her as the Deputy Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania in 2015.

Political experience

The Fifth President of Tanzania, Hon. Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, appointed Dr. Ackson as a Member of Parliament on 16 November 2015. In her first year as an active politician (2015), she contested for and won the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania. She served as a Deputy Speaker from 2015 to 2020. In the 2020 General Election, Dr. Ackson was elected a Member of Parliament for Mbeya Urban Constituency and then re-elected as Deputy Speaker.

On 1 February 2022, the 12th Parliament of Tanzania elected Dr. Ackson as Speaker of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania. She became the second woman in Tanzania to serve in the highest position in Tanzania's National Assembly. She served as the President of the African Geopolitical Group of the IPU in 2023. She is also the Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC) Speakers Bureau from 2023 to 2024 and the Chairperson of the Investment Board of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) African Region

Social life

Outside of politics, Dr. Ackson enjoys traditional dances, participates in marathons, and plays netball. She speaks Swahili, English and French. Dr. Ackson is married with two children.