Nelson Mandela (born 1918: South Africa)
Perhaps more than anyone in the 20th century, Nelson Mandela stands for enduring courage, for holding to convictions in the face of overwhelming opposition. Who would have thought that a black man sentenced to life imprisonment in apartheid South Africa would one day become free, be elected president of the country that imprisoned him, and win the Nobel Peace Prize!
Mandela, the son of the chief of the Tembu people, studied law at the University of Witwatersrand, then passed the qualifying examination to become a lawyer. He became an activist leader of the African National Congress (ANC), engaging in resistance to the apartheid policies of the government of South Africa. He was tried for treason in 1956-61 but acquitted, then jailed for sabotage in 1962, and finally tried for sabotage, treason and violent conspiracy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964.
Mandela spent the next 26 years in prison, while the international condemnation of apartheid grew more powerful and public opinion within South Africa changed. When F.W. de Klerk became president of South Africa he released Mandela in 1990, and the two men worked together to end apartheid and bring about a peaceful transition to full democracy in their country. When South Africa held its first all-race elections in 1994, Mandela was elected president.
Mandela’s reforms included a new democratic constitution, as well as housing, education and economic development initiatives to improve living standards for the poor. He retired from politics in 1999. Like Archbishop Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter, Mandela continues to wield a major influence on world affairs, especially in matters of racial justice.
Nelson Mandela – Nobel Lecture and Acceptance
© The Nobel Foundation 1993
Nelson Mandela
Photo: Nobel Laureate Peace 1993
© The Nobel Foundation 1993
“The Shifting Sands Of Illusion,” Nelson Mandela
Liberation, June 1953
© African National Congress
Used with permission.
“Nelson Mandela Address” During a Joint Sitting of Parliament to Mark 10 years of Democracy in South Africa
Monday 10 May 2004, Cape Town
© African National Congress
Used with permission.
Nelson Mandela Meets with de Klerk
Photo: IRC. (2005). Retrieved May 18, 2006, from unitedstreaming
Following Nelson Mandela’s release, he and South African President F. W. de Klerk had a series of meetings in preparation for negotiations for a new South African constitution codifying the elimination of apartheid. President de Klerk's willingness to open discussions was unprecedented, and brought sharp criticism from right-wing white South Africans. Standing between the two is Dr. Gerrit Viljoen, Minister of Constitutional Development.
Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in Prison
Photo: IRC. (2005). Retrieved May 18, 2006, from unitedstreaming.
Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in prison, 1975 or 1976. These two leaders of the African National Congress were given life sentences for their anti-apartheid activities. Founded in 1912, the ANC made modest requests for reform in the first four decades of its existence. The increasingly oppressive system after 1948 sparked increasingly radical responses. After the Sharpeville killings of March 21, 1960, the ANC and its offshoot organization, the PAC, were declared to be illegal. Mandela and Sisulu were arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite their imprisonment and the government's efforts to keep them from public view, Mandela and Sisulu served as powerful symbols of South African nationalism during their years of confinement. Sisulu, Deputy President of the ANC, was released in 1989. Mandela was released in 1990.
Freedom Fighters
Videos: 24 minutes
Discovery Channel School (2005). Retrieved May 18, 2006, from unitedstreaming
Mandela & Apartheid, Part I: Violence in South Africa
Mandela & Apartheid, Part II: Actions, Demands, and the End of Apartheid
(Videos: Part I, 15 minutes; Part II, 9 minutes)
These videos examine Nelson Mandela’s dream of ending apartheid in South Africa, and trace his path from demonstrator to political prisoner to international statesman.
Nelson Mandela Addresses Congress, 1990
Video: 13 minutes
Speeches from History: Nelson Mandela
United Learning (2004). Retrieved August 2, 2006, from unitedstreaming
