8 African vice Presidents who became Presidents (2026)

• Several African leaders, including Paul Kagame, William Ruto and Cyril Ramaphosa, transitioned from deputy roles to the presidency.

• The list highlights a clear political pathway where vice or deputy positions often serve as stepping stones to national leadership.

• It also reflects continuity in governance across countries like Ghana, Tanzania, and Liberia.

Across Africa, the vice presidency or deputy presidency has frequently served as a launchpad to the highest office in the land , sometimes through democratic elections, sometimes through constitutional succession following the death of a sitting president, and in at least one case, through a military-backed transition of power.

The eight leaders profiled below represent a remarkable cross-section of that journey.

Vice President: 1994–2000 | President: 2000–present

Paul Kagame has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously considered Rwanda's de facto leader between 1994 and 2000, while serving as Vice President and Minister of Defence under President Pasteur Bizimungu, until assuming the presidency in 2000.

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Kagame was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force that invaded Rwanda in 1990. The RPF was one of the main belligerents of the Rwandan Civil War and was the armed force that ended the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

On 22 April 2000, Kagame took the Oath of Office as President of the Republic of Rwanda, after being elected by the Transitional National Assembly. Three and a half years later, in August 2003, he won a landslide victory in the country's first-ever democratically contested multi-party elections.

Kagame was elected president of Rwanda in 2003 and reelected in 2010 and 2017; his last reelection was made possible by a 2015 amendment to the constitution that superseded the limit of two presidential terms. He remains one of Africa's most consequential, and controversial, leaders, having transformed Rwanda's economy and governance while drawing criticism from human rights groups over political freedoms.

Vice President: 2015–2021 | President: 2021–present

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Samia Suluhu Hassan, born 27 January 1960, is a Tanzanian politician and the sixth president of Tanzania, serving since 19 March 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the position and previously served as vice-president of Tanzania from 2015 to 2021, from which she ascended to the presidency following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

Before becoming president, Samia Suluhu Hassan served as vice-president under John Magufuli from 2015 to 2021. She was also a member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, a minister, and a member of Tanzania's National Assembly.

Hassan made history when she was sworn in at a ceremony in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. "Today I have taken an oath different from the rest that I have taken in my career. Those were taken in happiness. Today I took the highest oath of office in mourning," she said in her maiden speech.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was inaugurated in Dodoma on 3 November 2025 for her second term after winning 97.66% of the vote. Her governance has been described by observers as having taken an authoritarian drift, particularly regarding the post-election environment, even as she was initially praised for reversing many of her predecessor's restrictive policies.

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Deputy President: 2013–2022 | President: 2022–present

William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto, born 21 December 1966, is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected deputy president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.

His Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto was sworn in on September 13, 2022, after winning the Presidential election. He was elected on August 9, 2022 on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket. Before ascending to be President, Dr Ruto served as the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya from April 3, 2013 to September 12, 2022.

Ruto was born in Sambut village in Kamagut, in what is now Uasin Gishu County, and has been a member of the African Inland Church. He graduated with a B.S. in botany and zoology in 1990, an M.S. in 2011, and a Ph.D. in plant ecology in 2018, all from the University of Nairobi.

His path to power was unconventional: after a political falling out with his former running mate, President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto ran under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), defeating Odinga for the presidency in the 2022 election. The Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the results, ruling that the allegations lacked sufficient evidence to invalidate the outcome.

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First Vice President: 2014–2017 | President: 2017–present

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, born 15 September 1942, is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as the president of Zimbabwe since 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former president Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's first vice-president from 2014 until 2017, when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état.

He was given the nickname "Ngwena" (crocodile) by his fellow freedom fighters and inmates as he "moved slowly and quietly before attacking."

Emmerson Mnangagwa became president of Zimbabwe in 2017 after President Robert Mugabe was pressured to resign. He was inaugurated as the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces on November 23, 2017.

President Mnangagwa has extensive experience in government having served as a Cabinet Minister from Independence in 1980. He also served as Speaker of the House of Assembly before becoming Vice President. He is a lawyer by profession. His second term was secured in the 2023 Zimbabwean general election with 52.6% of the vote.

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Vice President: 2009–2012 | President: 2012–2017 & 2025–present

John Dramani Mahama, born 29 November 1958, is a Ghanaian politician who has been the president of the Republic of Ghana since January 2025. He previously served as president from 2012 to 2017, and served as vice president under President John Atta Mills from 2009 to 2012.

Mahama took office as president when Mills died in office on 24 July 2012. Mahama is the first vice president to assume the presidency following the death of his predecessor, and is the first head of state of Ghana to have been born after Ghana's independence in 1957.

John Dramani Mahama is the sixth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and made history as Ghana's first President to serve at all political levels, Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister for Communications, Minister for Communications, Vice President, and President of the Republic of Ghana.

With his resounding victory in the December 2024 elections, John Dramani Mahama became the first president in Ghana's history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term.

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Deputy President: 2014–2018 | President: 2018–present

Cyril Ramaphosa served as the deputy president of South Africa under President Jacob Zuma from 2014 to 2018. He was also chairman of the National Planning Commission. At the ANC's 54th National Conference on 18 December 2017, he was elected president of the ANC. Two months later, the day after Zuma resigned on 14 February 2018, the National Assembly elected Ramaphosa as president of South Africa.

Before entering politics, Ramaphosa was a prominent trade union leader and one of the chief architects of the post-apartheid constitutional negotiations. He began his first full term as president in May 2019 following the ANC's victory in the 2019 general election. While president, Ramaphosa served as chairperson of the African Union from 2020 to 2021 and led South Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ramaphosa's presidency has been marked by efforts at economic reform and anti-corruption initiatives, though his administration has also faced significant challenges including persistent load-shedding and high unemployment. He was re-elected as ANC president in 2022 and subsequently re-elected as the country's president following the 2024 general elections.

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Vice President: 2006–2018 | President: 2024–present

Joseph Nyuma Boakai, born 30 November 1944, is a Liberian politician who has served as the 26th president of Liberia since 2024. He previously served as the 29th vice president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and as the minister of agriculture from 1983 to 1985.

Boakai ran for president in 2017, losing the election to George Weah. He went on to defeat Weah in the 2023 election.

Joseph Nyumah Boakai, the 26th and current President of Liberia, has a distinguished career spanning over 40 years in public service. Born on November 30, 1944, in the remote village of Worsonga, Foya District, Lofa County, Boakai's journey to the presidency is marked by humble beginnings.

Liberia's president, H. E. Joseph Boakai, was sworn into office Monday, January 22, 2024. In his new role as president, Joe Boakai has promised a new mindset for the country by rallying Liberians to "Think, Love, and Build Liberia." Known for his reputation for integrity throughout his long career, Boakai's eventual rise to the presidency after a 12-year wait is widely seen as a vindication of patient public service.

First Vice President of Sudan: 2005–2011 | President: 2011–present

Prior to independence, Salva Kiir Mayardit was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang.

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Salva Kiir Mayardit, born 1951 in Akon, Sudan, became the first president of the newly independent country of South Sudan in 2011. He had served as president of the semiautonomous region of southern Sudan while simultaneously holding the position of first vice president in the Sudanese national government from 2005 to 2011.

Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the South gained autonomy under the leadership of John Garang in July 2005. Following Garang's death at the end of the month, Kiir became the new President of the Southern Autonomous region, as well as First Vice President of the central government.

South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011, with Kiir as its first president. His tenure has been defined by the brutal civil war that erupted in 2013, enormous governance challenges, and ongoing peace negotiations with rival factions. He remains Africa's longest-serving leader to have risen directly from a vice-presidential role.

The trajectories of these eight leaders illuminate a recurring theme in African political history: the vice or deputy presidency, far from being a ceremonial post, often serves as the most direct corridor to executive power.

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Some, like Samia Suluhu Hassan and John Mahama, ascended through constitutional succession after the death of sitting presidents. Others, like William Ruto and Joseph Boakai, leveraged their experience as deputies to mount successful democratic campaigns. Emmerson Mnangagwa's path was more turbulent, involving dismissal and a military intervention. And Salva Kiir's rise was born directly out of armed liberation struggle. Each story is distinct, yet all share a common thread: years spent in the shadow of power, preparing for the moment it would become their own.