Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist, was born on July 18, 1918 at Mvezo, South Africa. He was the first person in his family to attend the school and he also did well in school. Then he went to graduate from college and attend law school at University of the Witwatersrand. By 1942, he was involved in political causes. He guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to a multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world. He imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule. The years Mandela spent behind bars made him the world’s most celebrated political prisoner and a leader of mythic stature for millions of black South Africans and other oppressed people far beyond his country’s borders. Mandela never lost his resolve to fight for his people’s emancipation. He was determined to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war. He spent his entire adult life working for equality and justice in South Africa. His prestige and charisma helped him win the support of the world. In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but he shared it with F.W. de Klerk, the white African leader who had freed him from prison three years earlier and negotiated the end of apartheid. Mandela was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election and he served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. This great leader died naturally on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95. But he will be remembered as one of the greatest leaders and heroes of all time. People lauded his humanity, kindness and dignity.