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Nelson Mandela
When and where was Nelson Mandela born?
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, also known as Madiba, was born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa; the name Nelson was later added by one of his teachers. His father, the chief of the Madiba clan of theXhosa-speakingTembu people, died when Nelson was still young, and he was raised by Jongintaba, the regent of the Tembu. Although Nelson had a claim to the chieftainship, he renounced it in order to become a lawyer.
When did Nelson Mandela die?
Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013, inJohannesburg. He was 95 years old. After his death was announced, his life was remembered and celebrated in South Africa as well as around the world. Numerous memorial services were held, including one by the South African government on December 10. He was laid to rest at Qunu, in South Africa’sEastern Cape province, on December 15.
What is Nelson Mandela known for?
Nelson Mandela is known for several things, but perhaps he is best known for successfully leading the resistance to South Africa’s policy ofapartheid in the 20th century, during which he was infamously incarcerated atRobben Island Prison (1964–82). He won theNobel Prize for Peace in 1993, along with South Africa’s president at the time,F.W. de Klerk, for having led the transition from apartheid to a multiracial democracy. Mandela is also known for being the first black president of South Africa, serving from 1994 to 1999.
To whom was Nelson Mandela married?
Nelson Mandela had three wives: Evelyn Ntoko Mase (1944–58);Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (1958–96), who was also a noteworthy anti-apartheid champion; and Graça Machel (1998–2013), who was the widow ofSamora Machel, former president of Mozambique (1975–86), and was Mandela’s wife at the time of his death in 2013.
What publications did Nelson Mandela write?
Nelson Mandela’s writings includedI Am Prepared to Die (1964; rev. ed. 1986);No Easy Walk to Freedom (1965; updated ed. 2002);The Struggle Is My Life (1978; rev. ed. 1990);In His Own Words (2003); andLong Walk to Freedom (1994), which chronicles his early life and years in prison.Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years (2017), released posthumously, is the unfinished draft of his second volume of memoirs; it was completed by Mandla Langa.
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Nelson Mandela (born July 18, 1918, Mvezo, South Africa—died December 5, 2013, Johannesburg) was a Black nationalist and the first Blackpresident ofSouth Africa (1994–99). His negotiations in the early 1990s with South African Pres.F.W. de Klerk helped end thecountry’sapartheid system ofracial segregation andushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule. Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded theNobel Prize for Peace in 1993 for their efforts.
Early life and work
Nelson Mandela was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Madibaclan of the Xhosa-speakingTembu people. After his father’s death, young Nelson was raised by Jongintaba, the regent of the Tembu. Nelson renounced his claim to the chieftainship to become a lawyer. He attended South African Native College (later the University of Fort Hare) and studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand; he later passed the qualification exam to become a lawyer. In 1944 he joined theAfrican National Congress (ANC), a Black-liberation group, and became a leader of its Youth League. That same year he met and married Evelyn Ntoko Mase. Mandela subsequently held other ANC leadership positions, through which he helped revitalize the organization and oppose theapartheid policies of the rulingNational Party.
In 1952 inJohannesburg, with fellow ANC leaderOliver Tambo, Mandela established South Africa’s first Black law practice, specializing in cases resulting from the post-1948apartheid legislation. Also that year, Mandela played an important role in launching a campaign of defiance against South Africa’s pass laws, which required nonwhites to carry documents (known as passes, pass books, or reference books) authorizing their presence in areas that the government deemed “restricted” (i.e., generally reserved for the white population). He traveled throughout the country as part of the campaign, trying to build support for nonviolent means of protest against the discriminatory laws. In 1955 he was involved indrafting theFreedom Charter, a document calling for nonracialsocial democracy in South Africa.
Mandela’s antiapartheid activism made him a frequent target of the authorities. Starting in 1952, he was intermittentlybanned (severely restricted in travel, association, and speech). In December 1956 he was arrested with more than 100 other people on charges of treason that were designed to harass antiapartheid activists. Mandela went on trial that same year and eventually was acquitted in 1961. During the extended court proceedings, he divorced his first wife and married Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela (Winnie Madikizela-Mandela).
Underground activity and the Rivonia Trial
After themassacre of unarmed Black South Africans by police forces atSharpeville in 1960 and the subsequent banning of the ANC, Mandela abandoned his nonviolent stance and began advocating acts ofsabotage against the South African regime. He went underground (during which time he became known as the Black Pimpernel for his ability to evade capture) and was one of the founders ofUmkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the ANC. In 1962 he went toAlgeria for training inguerrilla warfare and sabotage, returning to South Africa later that year. On August 5, shortly after his return, Mandela was arrested at a road block inNatal; he was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison.
- In full:
- Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
- Byname:
- Madiba
- Born:
- July 18, 1918, Mvezo,South Africa
- Died:
- December 5, 2013,Johannesburg (aged 95)
- Title / Office:
- president (1994-1999),South Africa
- Political Affiliation:
- African National Congress
- Umkhonto we Sizwe
- Awards And Honors:
- Nobel Prize (1993)
- Notable Family Members:
- spouseWinnie Madikizela-Mandela
In October 1963 the imprisoned Mandela and several other men were tried for sabotage, treason, and violentconspiracy in the infamousRivonia Trial, named after a fashionable suburb of Johannesburg where raiding police had discovered quantities of arms and equipment at the headquarters of the underground Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela’s speech from the dock, in which he admitted the truth of some of the charges made against him, was a classic defense of liberty and defiance oftyranny. (His speech garnered international attention and acclaim and was published later that year asI Am Prepared to Die.) On June 12, 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, narrowly escaping thedeath penalty.