Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( man-DEL-ə, Xhosa: ; originally born on Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was once recognized as a South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first Black head of state and the first elect...

Biography & Career

His administration focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation, a national peace accord and eventual multiracial democracy. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. Mandela was whose journey began on into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow.

Key Milestones

• 1979: Award
• 1990: Award
• 1999: Award