Nelson Mandela

The Master of Reconciliation

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 18 July 1918)

Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, nationalist leader and the first South African president (1994-99) to be elected in fully representative democracy. He was imprisoned by the apartheid regime for almost 27 years and his release in 1990 was a milestone in abolishing apartheid.

He was born in Mvezo in the Transkei, South Africa, as a son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Thembu dynasti. He was named Rolihlahla, but a teacher in school gave him the English name Nelson. In South Africa he is known as “Madiba”, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.

Mandela is educated lawyer in 1942 and was as a young law students involved in the political opposition to the white minority controlled denial of political, social and economic rights for the black majority. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, and was a co-founder of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in 1944.

After the 1948 election victory of the Africaner-dominated National Party with its apartheid policy of racial segregation, Mandela was prominent in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People, whose adoption of the Freedom Charter provided the fundamental program of the anti-apartheid cause.

Although they initially supported a non-violent struggle and was acquitted in the marathon Treason Trial (1956-61), Mandela and his colleagues after the shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Sharpsville in March 1960 and the subsequent ban on the ANC and other anti-apartheid groups saw no other options than armed struggle. In 1961, Mandela became the leader of the ANC's armed wing, "Umkhonto we Sizwe” (Spear of the Nation or MK).

Among opponents of apartheid in South Africa and internationally, he became a symbol of freedom and equality, while the apartheid government and nations sympathetic to it condemned him and the ANC as communists and terrorists.

Sustained campaigns from the ANC and international pressure led to Mandela's release on 11 February 1990 on the orders of State President F.W. de Klerk, who also repealed the ban on the ANC.

In 1993 Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in bringing apartheid to an end and establish democracy in South Africa. In addition Mandela has received many South African, foreign and international honours.

As president of the ANC (1991-97) and the State President of South Africa (1994-99), Mandela had overall responsibility for the transition from minority rule and apartheid, winning international respect for his advocacy of national and international reconciliation.

Mandela has frequently credited Mahatma Gandhi for being a major source of inspiration in his life, both for the philosophy of non-violence and for facing adversity with dignity.

Since Mandela in 1999 resigned as president he was spokesman for various social and human rights organizations. He is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues.

In 2001 Peter Gabriel and Richard Branson took their idea of The Elders – a new gathering of world leaders to guide and support our ”global village” – to Nelson Mandela. Mandela was immediately enthusiastic and, with help of his wife Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu, he set about bringing together a group of Elders; free from political, economic or military pressures.

Mandela's 90th birthday was marked across the country on 18 July 2008, with the main celebrations held at his home town. A concert in his honour was also held in Hyde Park, London. In a speech to mark his birthday, Mandela called for the rich people to help poor people across the world.

Quotations

• There is no such thing as part freedom.
• I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.
• For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
• Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.
• Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
• The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
• I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
• If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
• Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.
• As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
• If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
• And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
• It always seems impossible until its done.
• There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
• As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.
• There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
• There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
• A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
• Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the  world.
• In my country we go to prison first and then become President.
• If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

He closed his statement on 20 April 1964 at Pretoria Supreme Court with these words:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Links

The Nelson Mandela Foundation:
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/index.php

Mandela Center Denmark:
http://mandelacenter.dk/

The Elders:
http://www.theelders.org/