Name: Nelson Mandel ( born as Rolihlahla Mandela ).

Born: 18 July 1918.

Passed: 5 December 2013

Place of birth: Village of Mvezo, Eastern Cape City

Residency: South Africa

Known for: Key person for ending apartheid in South Africa, President of South Africa
Awards: to name a small number, includes Nobel Peace Prize (1993), Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award (2006), Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (1988), Freedom of the City of London (1996)

Nelson Mandela was born to Nonqaphi Nosekeni (mother) and Nkosi Mphanyiswa Gadla Mandela (father).

Reports say that Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, and formed the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). Nelson rose through the ranks.

Nelson Mandela’s passion to fight for the freedom of his people started as a seed that was influenced through stories told by his elders. It is said that he dreamed of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people.

In 1952 Nelson was chosen as the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign. This campaign was against 6 unjust laws, it was a joint campaign between the ANC and theSouth African Indian Congress.

In 1952 Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, at the end of 1952 he was banned from practising. Nelson and others were sent to trial for sabotage, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1964. Nelson’s final release from prison was 11 th February 1990.

Britannica’s website says that throughout Nelson’s imprisonment he retained wide support among South Africa’s Black population, and his imprisonment became a cause célèbre among the international community that condemned aparthied.  That is people all over the world were interested in this cause and the removal of the apartheid system.

After Nelson’s release from prison, he got deeply involved in official talks to end white minority rule. In 1991 he was elected ANC President, and then in May 1994 he was formally admitted as South Africa’s first Black person to take charge of the government. The apartheid system was dismantled and replaced with a multiracial democracy.

Nelson Mandela
According to the South African’s website Nelson Mandela received more than 250 awards. Some of the awards Nelson received were:
– Nobel Peace Prize (1993)
– Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award (2006)
– Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (1988)
– Freedom of the City of London (1996)
Nelson died on 5 December 2005.