Nelson Mandela

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is the difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."
"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"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." Nelson Mandela.



Nelson Mandela, who died on December 5 2013, was one of the most universally respected and inspirational leaders of recent history. Imprisoned for 27 years by the South African government for campaigning to destroy the racist system of Apartheid, Mandela was finally freed in 1990. Rather than look for revenge and retribution, he negotiated with his former captors to lead South Africa into a remarkably peaceful transition to a democracy. He and FW de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993 and Mandela was elected president of South Africa in 1994. He stepped down as president in 1999 to dedicate the remainder of his life to work for charitable foundations to help children, combat AIDS and end poverty.
Follow these links for the BBC obituary on Mandela, the Guardian page on the speech he made at his trial in 1964, the Guardian page on Mandela and the history.com webpage on Apartheid and a BBC article on one man's experience of the regime. And here is the BBC new item on his life: