Nelson Mandela
Born:
18/07/1918
Died:
05/12/2013
Birthplace:
Transkei, South Africa
A
towering figure in 20th century history, Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela
showed how wisdom and patience can triumph over bigotry and brute force.
Truly the Father of a Nation.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the son of one of South Africa's
leading dignitaries, Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe, and it was
as a young law student that he became involved in political opposition
to the white minority regime. Joining the African National Congress
(ANC) in 1942, he co-founded its more dynamic Youth League two years
later.
The 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party
led to the apartheid system of racial segregation becoming law. Mandela
rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People, whose adoption of the Freedom Charter provided the fundamental programm of the anti-apartheid cause.
Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle and acquitted in the
marathon Treason Trial of 1956-1961, Mandela and his colleagues
accepted the case for armed action after the shooting of unarmed
protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and the banning of
anti-apartheid groups.
In 1961, he became the commander of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we
Sizwe. In August of the following year, he was arrested and jailed for
five years. In June 1964, he was sentenced again, this time to life
imprisonment, for his involvement in planning armed action.
He started his prison years in the infamous Robben Island Prison, a
maximum security facility on a small island off the coast of Cape Town.
In April 1984, he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town and
in December 1988 he was moved to the Victor Verster Prison near Paarl
from where he was eventually released.
During his incarceration Mandela taught himself to speak Afrikaans and learned about Afrikaner history.
He was able to converse with his guards in their own language, using
his charm and intelligence to reason with them and try to understand the
way they thought. This caused the authorities to replace the guards
around regularly Mandela as it was felt that they could were becoming
too lenient in their treatment of their famous prisoner.
While in prison, Mandela rejected offers made by his jailers for
remission of sentence in exchange for accepting the Bantustan policy by
recognising the independence of the Transkei region and agreeing to
settle there. Amongst opponents of apartheid in South Africa and
internationally, he became a cultural symbol of freedom and equality.
Mandela remained in prison until February 1990, when sustained ANC
campaigning and international pressure led to his release. On 2 February
1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC
and other anti-apartheid organisations. Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison on 11 February 1990.
He and President de Klerk - who did much to dismantle the institutions of apartheid
- shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. In Mandela's 1994
autobiography, 'Long Walk to Freedom', he did not reveal anything about
the alleged complicity of de Klerk in the violence of the 1980s and 90s,
or the role of his ex-wife Winnie Mandela in that bloodshed. However,
he later discussed those issues in 'Mandela: The Authorised Biography'.
After his release, Mandela returned to the leadership of the ANC and,
between 1990 and 1994, led the party in the multi-party negotiations
that resulted in the country's first multi-racial elections. As the
first black president of South Africa (1994 - 1999) he presided over the
transition from minority rule and apartheid. He won praise for his
leadership during this time, even from his former white opponents in
South Africa.
Following his retirement as president in 1999, Mandela went on to
become an advocate for a variety of social and human-rights
organisations. He used his status as a respected elder statesman to give
weight to pertinent issues, declaring the United States "a threat to
world peace" in 2002 while calling on then president George W Bush not to launch attacks on Iraq.
Because his health was declining, Mandela chose to retire from public
life in 2004 and went on to reduce his number of appearances, although
he was too prominent a figure to disappear completely. His name has been
used to promote charitable ventures close to his heart such as the
Nelson Mandela Invitational charity golf tournament, which has raised millions of rand for children's charities since its establishment in 2000.
The fight against Aids is one of Mandela's primary concerns and he
used his gravitas to raise awareness about the issue on the global
stage. Having backed the 46664 Aids fundraising campaign, which was
named after his prison number, he went on to call for more openness in
discussing the condition. His son Makgatho Mandela died of Aids in 2005
and the statesman used the occasion to tell people that not hiding the
condition, but talking about it, is the only way to break the stigma.
In 2007, he brought together elder statesmen, peace activists and
human rights advocates including Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Ela Bhatt,
Gro Harlem Brundtland and Li Zhaoxing under a non-governmental
organisation dubbed The Elders. The aim of the organisation was to
combine the elders' collective wisdom and use it to solve some of the
world's problems.
Although he spoke out less about issues affecting neighbouring
country Zimbabwe in his retirement, Mandela attempted to persuade
President Robert Mugabe to vacate office with some dignity in 2007.
However, Mr Mugabe ignored him and hung on to power, leading Mandela to
slam the "tragic failure of leadership" in June 2008 when Zimbabwe was
in crisis following disputed presidential elections.
In November 2009, Mandela's contributions to world freedom were
rewarded with a unique gesture by the United Nations General Assembly.
The body announced that his birthday, 18 July, would be known as Mandela
Day. The recipient of hundreds of awards and honorary recognitions,
including the Nobel Peace Prize, Mandela continues to exert influence on
the world even without being actively involved in issues.
His last public outing was during the closing ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
in Johannesburg. In January 2011, Mandela was hospitalised, prompting
concerns about the health of the 92-year-old statesman. The Nelson
Mandela Foundation revealed that he was in Milpark Hospital in
Johannesburg, although it said his life was not in jeopardy. He was
allowed home after a couple of days and was transported home, where he
leads a quiet retirement.
On 18 July 2012, Mandela's 94th birthday, 12 million schoolchildren
across South Africa honoured him with a specially composed song to mark
the day. Meanwhile, Mandela celebrated quietly at home with his family.
Mandela has been married three times, including a 38-year marriage to
politician Winnie Madikizela, who was his second wife. They wed in 1958
and had daughter Zenani the same year. Their second daughter Zindzi was
born in 1960. His youngest daughter was just 18 months old when he was
sent to prison.
Nelson and Winnie separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. His first
marriage to Evelyn Mase had also ended in divorce in 1957 due to his
devotion to revolutionary agitation.
They had been together for 13 years and had four children together
including Thembi, who was born in 1946. He died in a car crash in 1969
at the age of 23 and Mandela was not allowed to go to the funeral as he
was in jail. Their first daughter Maki, who was born in 1947, died at
just nine months old and the couple named their second daughter in 1953
in her honour. Makgatho was born in 1950.
On his 80th birthday he married Graca Machel, widow of the late
Mozambican president Samora Machel. The couple now live at his home in
Qunu.
Mandela spent more time in hospital towards the end of 2012,
suffering from a lung infection and gallstones. He was discharged a few
days before New Year and started 2013 at home surrounded by his family.
He passed away on 5 December 2013 of a lung infection at his home in Johannesburg. He was 95 years old.
Quotes :
"Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement."
"I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man."
"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
"Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."
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