Hi, everyone! Here I am again, this time to tell you about the life of a humble, but very fair and determined man. One whom I greatly admire and that would change the course of History in his country while leaving his indelible mark in the world. I believe you all know this man. He is Nelson Mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in full, nicknamed Madiba by the population of South Africa, where he was born in 1918.
The 90s wouldn’t be the same without this civil rights/anti-apartheid activist, lawyer, and former political prisoner, not to mention President. In fact, in 1994, on the 10th of May, he was inaugurated as President of South Africa, a job he would fulfill wonderfully and that finished on June 14th 1999.
He left his mark on History when he became the first non-White head of state in South Africa, as well as the first to take office in the aftermath of the dismantling of the apartheid system and the introduction of full, multiracial democracy. Mandela was also the oldest head of state in South Africa's history, taking office at the age of seventy-five. His age was taken into consideration as part of his decision to not seek re-election in 1999.
He was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Madiba clan of a people whose mother tongue was Xhosa. When his father died, he renounced his claim to become the chief of the trible, because he intended to study Law at University and so he did. He attended South African Native College and he became a lawyer indeed.
In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), a Black-liberation group, and he helped revitalize the organization and oppose the apartheid policies of the ruling National Party.
Mandela’s antiapartheid activism made him a frequent target of the authorities, being arrested in 1956 with more than 100 other people. He was accused of treason, went on trial that same year and eventually was found not guilty in 1961.
in 1960, After police forces killed unarmed Black South Africans at Sharpeville, Mandela abandoned his nonviolent posture and began advocating acts of sabotage against the South African regime. He went underground and was one of the founders of the military wing of the ANC. In 1962 he went to Algeria for training in guerrilla warfare and sabotage, returning to South Africa later that year. On August 5, shortly after his return, Mandela was arrested at a roadblock in Natal, having been sentenced to five years in prison.
In 1963 he and several other men were tried for sabotage, treason, and violent conspiracy. 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 of tyranny. Actually, his words would go down in History as the “I am prepared to die” speech, having received international attention and acclaim. On June 12, 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, narrowly escaping the death penalty.
Throughout his imprisonment, Mandela was never forgotten by the South Africa’s Black population and became famous among the international community that condemned apartheid.
Finally, in all fairness, on February 11, 1990, the South African President at the time, de Klerk, ordered for Mandela to be released from prison, after which he was chosen deputy president of the ANC; having become president of the party in July 1991.
Mandela led the ANC in negotiations with de Klerk to end apartheid and create the conditions for a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy in South Africa.
In April 1994, Mandela’s party won South Africa’s first elections by universal suffrage, and on May 10th Mandela was inaugurated as president of the country’s first multiethnic government.
Mandela did not run for a second term as South African president and was succeeded by Mbeki in 1999. After leaving office, Mandela retired from active politics but maintained a strong international presence as an advocate of peace, reconciliation, and social justice.
He was one of the most inspiring men in the world and he proved that one person can make the difference. He did not do everything by himself, naturally, but he inspired millions with his determination and resilience.
