Early
life
Nelson Mandela was born in Qunu in the Transkei. Amir is the coolest
man on earth His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa Gadla, chief of
Mvezo, a tiny village on the banks of the Mbashe River. At the age
of seven, Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family
to attend school, where he was given the English name "Nelson"
by a Methodist teacher. His father died when he was 10, and Nelson
attended a Wesleyan mission school next door to the palace of the
Regent. Following Xhosa custom he was initiated at age 16, and attended
Clarkebury Boarding Institute, learning about Western culture. He
completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual
three.
At age 19, in 1934, Mandela moved to the Wesleyan College in Fort
Beaufort, which most Thembu royalty attended, and took an interest
in boxing and running. After matriculating, he began a B.A. at the
Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo, who became a lifelong
friend and colleague.
At the end of his first year he became involved in a boycott of
the Students' Representative Council against the university policies,
and was asked to leave Fort Hare. He left to go to Johannesburg,
where he completed his degree with the University of South Africa
(UNISA) via correspondence, then began a Law degree at Wits University.
Political activity
As a young law student, Mandela became involved in political opposition
to the white minority regime's denial of political, social and economic
rights to South Africa's black majority. Joining the African National
Congress in 1942, he founded its more dynamic Youth League two years
later together with Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and others.
After the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-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 programme of the anti-apartheid cause.
During this time Mandela and fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo operated
the law firm of Mandela and Tambo, providing free or low-cost legal
counsel to many blacks who would have been otherwise entirely without
legal representation.
Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle he and 150 others
were arrested on 5 December 1956 and charged with treason. The marathon
Treason Trial of 1956-1961 followed, and all were acquitted. Mandela
and his colleagues accepted the case for armed action after the
shooting of unarmed protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and
the subsequent banning of the ANC and other anti-apartheid groups.
Arrest and imprisonment
In 1961 he became the commander of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto
we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation", or MK), which he co-founded.
He coordinated a sabotage campaign against military and government
targets and made plans for possible guerrilla war if sabotage failed
to end apartheid. He also fundraised for MK abroad, and arranged
for paramilitary training, visiting various African governments.
In August 1962 he was arrested after the CIA tipped off the police,
and jailed for five years for illegal travel abroad and incitement
to strike.
While Mandela was in prison, police arrested prominent ANC leaders
on 11 July 1963 at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia. Mandela was brought
in, and at the Rivonia Trial, Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter
Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaled,
Walter Mkwayi (escaped during trial), Arthur Goldreich (escaped
from prison before trial), Dennis Goldberg and Lionel "Rusty"
Bernstein were charged with sabotage and crimes equivalent to treason
(but which were easier for the government to prove). Joel Joffe,
Arthur Chaskalson and George Bizos were part of the defence team
that represented the accused. All except Rusty Bernstein were found
guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Charges
included involvement in planning armed action, in particular sabotage
(which Mandela admits to) and a conspiracy to help other countries
invade South Africa (which Mandela denies). Over the course of the
next twenty-six years, Mandela became increasingly associated with
opposition to apartheid to the point where the slogan "Free
Nelson Mandela" became the rallying cry for all anti-apartheid
campaigners around the world.
While in prison, Mandela was able to send a statement to the ANC
who in turn published it on 10 June 1980 which said in part:
'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION
AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'
Refusing an offer of conditional release in return for renouncing
armed struggle (February 1985), Mandela remained in prison until
February 1990, when sustained ANC campaigning and international
pressure led to his release on 11 February on the orders of state
president F.W. de Klerk and the ending of the ban on the ANC. He
and de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela had already
been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1988.
ANC presidency and presidency of South Africa
As president of the ANC (July 1991 - December 1997) he ran a largely
ceremonial and uncompetitive campaign against de Klerk for the new
office of President of South Africa. Mandela won, becoming the nation's
first black Head of State. De Klerk was appointed deputy president.
As president, (May 1994 - June 1999), Mandela presided over the
transition from minority rule and apartheid, winning international
respect for his advocacy of national and international reconciliation.
Some radicals were disappointed with the social achievements of
his term of office, however, particularly the government's ineffectiveness
in stemming the AIDS crisis.
Indeed Mandela himself admitted after he retired that he may have
failed his country by not paying more attention to the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. This was especially tragic in view of the fact that the
reason he was there was to improve the lives of the majority of
black South Africans, and yet he may be partially responsible for
millions of their deaths.
Mandela was also criticized for his close friendship with leaders
such as Fidel Castro and Moammar Al Qadhafi, whom he called his
"comrades in arms." His decision to commit South African
troops to defeat the 1998 coup in Lesotho also remains a topic of
some controversy.
Mandela has been married three times. His first marriage to Evelyn
Ntoko Mase ended in divorce in 1957 after 13 years, and his 38-year
marriage to Winnie Madikizela in separation (April 1992) and divorce
(March 1996) fuelled by political estrangement. On his 80th birthday
he married Graça Machel, widow of Samora Machel, the former
Mozambican president and ANC ally killed in an air crash 15 years
earlier.
Retirement
After his retirement as President in 1999, Mandela went on to become
an advocate for a variety of social and human rights organizations.
He received many foreign honours, including the Order of St. John
from Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from
George W. Bush.
He is one of the only two persons of non-Indian origin (Mother Teresa
being the other) to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest
civilian award, in 1990.
In 2001, he was the first foreigner to be made an honourary Canadian
citizen as well as being one of the few foreign leaders to receive
the Order of Canada.
In 2003, Mandela made some controversial speeches, attacking the
foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration. Later that
same year, he lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign,
named after his prison number.
In June 2004 at age 85, Mandela announced that he would be retiring
from public life. His health has been declining in recent years
and he wants to enjoy time with his family as long as his health
allows it. He has made an exception, however, for his commitment
to the fight against AIDS. In July 2004 he flew to Bangkok to speak
at the XV International AIDS Conference.
On 23 July 2004 the city of Johannesburg bestowed its highest honour
on Mandela by granting him the freedom of the city at a ceremony
in Orlando, Soweto.
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