Daniel Francisco Chapo does not need to raise his voice to stand out. At about 6 feet 8 inches tall, Mozambique’s president is widely regarded as the tallest head of state in the world. But it is his swift rise from radio presenter to the country’s highest office that has made him one of the most closely watched leaders in southern Africa.
Born on January 6, 1977, in Inhaminga, a small town in Sofala province, Chapo grew up during Mozambique’s brutal civil war. He was the sixth of ten children in a family forced by fighting to relocate to a nearby district. Those early disruptions shaped a life marked by movement, study, and steady political ascent.
Chapo completed his secondary education in the coastal city of Beira before earning a law degree from Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo in 2000. He later obtained a masters degree in development management from the Catholic University of Mozambique. Along the way, he built a varied professional career, working as a radio announcer and television news presenter, serving as a legal notary, lecturing in constitutional law and political science, and holding senior administrative posts within government.
His entry into politics came in 2009 through the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, FRELIMO. He served as a district administrator in Nacala a Velha and later Palma, before being appointed governor of Inhambane province in 2016. Three years later, he secured the position through election, cementing his reputation as a loyal and disciplined party figure.
That loyalty was rewarded in May 2024, when FRELIMO named him its presidential candidate with overwhelming internal support. The decision surprised many observers. Chapo was relatively unknown nationally and had never held a cabinet post. Yet his selection also marked a generational shift. Born after independence from Portugal in 1975, he became the first FRELIMO presidential candidate from that era.
Mozambique’s election in October 2024 proved deeply contested. The electoral commission declared Chapo the winner with more than two thirds of the vote, while opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane rejected the result, alleging widespread fraud. International observers and church leaders raised concerns, and protests erupted across the country, leaving hundreds dead.
Despite the unrest, Chapo was sworn in as Mozambique’s president on January 15, 2025. In his public remarks since, he has struck a sober tone. Speaking at a recent birthday celebration, he acknowledged the scale of the task ahead. “We must recover our country economically,” Chapo said. “It is easy to destroy, but building is not an easy task.”
At 48, he is also the first president to be younger than the nation he leads. Supporters see him as a disciplined organiser and a product of FRELIMO’s political machine.
Away from politics, Chapo is married to Gueta Sulemane Chapo and is a father of four. He is described as a church going Christian with a passion for basketball and football, sports well suited to his imposing frame.