Who is Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela(born 18 July 1918(age95)) is aSouth Africananti-apartheid revolutionaryand politician who served asPresident of South Africafrom 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in afully representative, multiracial election. Hisgovernmentfocused on dismantling the legacy ofapartheidthrough tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically anAfrican nationalistanddemocratic socialist, he served as thePresident of the African National Congress(ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was theSecretary General of the Non-Aligned Movementfrom 1998 to 1999.
AXhosaborn to theThemburoyal family, Mandela attendedFort Hare Universityand theUniversity of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living inJohannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of itsYouth League. After theAfrikaner nationalistsof theNational Partycame to power in 1948 and began implementing the policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952Defiance Campaign, was elected President of the Transvaal ANC Branch and oversaw the 1955Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was prosecuted in theTreason Trialfrom 1956 to 1961 but was found not guilty. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with theSouth African Communist Partyhe co-founded the militantUmkhonto we Sizwe(MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted ofsabotageand conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in theRivonia Trial.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, first onRobben Island, and later inPollsmoor PrisonandVictor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Becoming ANC President, Mandela publishedhis autobiographyand led negotiations with PresidentF.W. de Klerkto abolish apartheid and establishmultiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. He was electedPresidentand formed aGovernment of National Unityin an attempt to defuse ethnic tensions. As President, he established anew constitutionand initiated theTruth and Reconciliation Commissionto investigate pasthuman rightsabuses. Continuing the former government'sliberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourageland reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in thePan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversawmilitary intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy,Thabo Mbeki. Mandela subsequently became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty andHIV/AIDSthrough theNelson Mandela Foundation.
Mandela has been a controversial figure for much of his life. Right-wing critics denounced him as a terrorist and communist sympathiser. He nevertheless gained international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having receivedmore than 250 honours, including the 1993Nobel Peace Prize, the USPresidential Medal of Freedom, and the SovietOrder of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by hisXhosa clan name,Madiba, or asTata("Father"); he is often described as "the father of the nation".