Albert John Luthuli, the president of the African National Congress, was an African politician and

teacher. A noble man and an adamant leader, Luthuli fought for African’s rights to equality and
justice following a non-violent resistance. Before elected to the presidency of the ANC, he was the
president of his tribe and the leader of around 10 million black Africans in their non-violent struggle
for civil rights in South Africa. An anti-apartheid leader and president of ANC, Luthuli actively
participated in the movement against the White minority Government in South Africa and the 'pass
law' introduced by the government to circumscribe the freedom of movement of Africans.
Throughout his struggle, he was banned, arrested and poisoned several times by the government,
which only reinforced his determination and commitment to the cause; he succeeded in establishing
peace and equality for his country people despite theses roadblocks. In 1960, Luthuli was honored
with Nobel Peace Prize for his role in African Civil Rights movement.

Childhood & Early Life

Luthuli was born in 1898 near Bulawayo in Rhodesia as the third son of Seventh-day Adventist
missionary John Bunyan Luthuli and Mtonya Gumede. After his father’s death around 1906, Albert
Jon Luthuli moved to Grout Ville in South Africa, where his mother had spent her childhood. With his
mother's support, Luthuli went to a local Congregationalist Institute for his primary education before
he took admission in a boarding school called Ohlange Institute.
 
On completing a teacher’s course from a Methodist Institution at Eden dale around 1917, Luthuli
took up a job as principal in an intermediate school in Natal. In 1920, he attended a higher teacher’s
training course at Adams College with a scholarship provided by the government and joined the
training college staff afterward. Albert Luthuli was elected as the secretary of the African Teacher’s
Association in 1928 and subsequently its president in 1933.
 Alberto Fujimori is a former Peruvian politician who went on to become the President of Peru and
served in that capacity for nearly a decade. The highly educated Fujimori served as an academician
for several years and later contested the presidential elections. His victory was a big surprise and
earned him the title of being ‘The first Asian man to become the President of Peru’. Peru was in
shambles when Fujimori took over. Few of the great achievements of his administration were
stabilising the Peruvian economy by relaxing various trading regulations, and bringing Maoist
insurgency under control to a great extent. During his first tenure Fujimori suspended the
constitution and carried out a Presidential coup. The coup was severely condemned by the
international community but it was widely welcomed by the Peruvian public. Though Fujimori brought
a significant change to Peru, he was also widely criticized for his ‘dictatorship’ style of leadership,
which also became a reason for his downfall. All the reputation that Fujimori earned through the
years was spoilt due to incidents such as forced sterilization of women to control population. Later, it
was also revealed that Fujimori was involved in crimes such as drug trafficking and illegal trading of
arms and ammunitions. Fujimori was tried in court for several offences and was sentenced for 25
years. He is currently serving his sentence in prison.

Childhood & Early Life

 Alberto Fujimori was born on 28 July 1938, to Japanese parents named Mutsue Inomoto
Fujimori and Naoichi Fujimori. His parents had immigrated to Peru from Japan in 1934. He has
three other siblings. Fujimori’s place of birth continues to be a topic of debate. While some
sources claim that he was born in Peru, few others say that Japan is his birthplace.  
 Fujimori completed his primary education from ‘La Rectora’. It was during his time at school
that Fujimori learned to speak fluent Spanish. In 1957, he went on to pursue a degree in
Agricultural Engineering from ‘Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina’ and graduated in 1961.
After graduation, he worked as mathematics lecturer at the university for a brief time.  
 Fujimori moved to France in 1964 to study Physics at the prestigious ‘University of
Strasbourg’. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’, United States on Ford
scholarship and obtained a Master degree in Mathematics, in 1969.
 Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin was a French politician and lawyer whose active radical and
political activism earned him a prominent place in the French second Republic. He was also
instrumental in bringing about universal male suffrage in France. His defense of republicans, who
were accused of political offences, brought him recognition as a lawyer. He also served as the editor
of a leading law journal titled, “Journal du Palais” for ten years. In the beginning of his political
career, he was a well known leader of the working-men of France, but in later on he lost his
influence on them due to his strong campaign for labor. He was the socialist candidate who stood
against Louis Napoleon and was well known for his violent and electoral speeches. He also played
an important role in the revolution of 1848. He held the position of Deputy for Le Mans. In later
period of his life he led a moderate political group known as ‘The Mountain’ which secured 25% of
the votes in the 1849 legislative election. He was accused of plotting against Napoleon III of France
and had to lead a life of exile for almost 20 years.

Childhood & Early Life

 Born in Paris, Rollin was the grandson of Nicolas Philippe Ledru, a renowned quack doctor
under Louis XV and Louis XVI. His father was also a physician. As the son of a wealthy physician,
he received liberal education and studied law.
 James Callaghan, also known as the Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, was the Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. He was also the only person to have occupied the four Great
Offices of State"the Exchequer, the Home Office, the Foreign Office and that of the Prime Minister.
One of the longest serving members of the House of Commons, he was known to have been an
engaging personality and was a political ‘kahuna’. He began his career working as a tax inspector
and slowly ascended the political ladder. He donned many roles - a volunteer with the Royal Navy,
an Ordinary Seaman, a Lieutenant and then, a politician. During his tenure as the Chancellor of
Exchequer, he introduced the important capital gains tax and helped stabilize the financial market in
the country. After having faced a tough period during the Middle East crisis, he resigned as the
Chancellor and later went on to become the Home Secretary. A strong advocator of the Labour-
Trade Union Link, he was appointed as foreign secretary for his adept decision making skills and
efficient management.

Childhood & Early Life

 He was born in Portsmouth, England, to James Callaghan, a Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer
and Charlotte Callaghan nee Cundy. He had an older sister, Dorothy Callaghan.
 He attended Portsmouth Northern Secondary School and was awarded the Senior Oxford
Certificate in 1929. Since he could not afford university education, he sat for the civil service
entrance exam. 
 At the age of 17, he worked as a tax inspector for Inland Revenue for a brief period of time.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi was a major political and
spiritual leader of India who led the country in the non-cooperation movement in 1922 and Salt
march in 1930 and later in Quit India movement in 1942 during its struggle for independence. Known
as Beloved Baapu in India, Mahatma Gandhi adopted the policy of mass disobedience and non-
violent resistance as weapons against the British Rule in India and followed a principle of Ahimsa
(total Non-Violence). He endured several hardships, was arrested and occasionally beaten in his
journey and struggle to Justice and Freedom. However, his struggle does not restrict to India itself,
as the leader played a key role in the Civil Rights movement in South Africa and secured them the
right to justice and equality. His birthday 2 October is commemorated as Gandhi Jayanti, a national
holiday and as the International Non-Violence day across the world.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, a town in Gujarat in western India on 2
October 1869. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the Diwan of Porbandar state of British India. His
mother Putlibai was Karamchand’s fourth wife. Having born in a Hindu family Gandhi strictly followed
vegetarianism and fasting as means of self-purification. At the age of 13 he was married to one year
older kasturba. In 1885, Kasturbai gave birth to their first child who survived only few days. Later the
couple had four sons. All along his schooling days Gandhi was an average student and passed his
matriculation exam from Samaldas College, Gujarat with some difficulty. On 4th September 1888, he
traveled to England to study law at the university College London and to train as a barrister, as his
family wanted him to be a barrister.
 
Civil Rights Movement in South Africa
In South Africa, he had a first hand experience of racial discrimination and prejudice directed at
Indians and the injustice imposed on them. Gandhi himself experienced the humiliation and disgrace
while in South Africa. Initially he was thrown off a train for refusing to travel in a third class coach
while holding a first class ticket. Other similar events including being barred from many hotels in
South Africa moved him and encouraged him to work for Indian people there. As a result he
extended his original period of stay to protest a bill passed by the South African government to deny
them the right to vote.
 
 In 1906, the Transvaal government launched a new act forcing registration of Indian population.
Enraged by the act, a mass protest meeting was held in Johannesburg on 11 September in which
Gandhi called on Indian people to resist the new act through non-violent and peaceful means. His
methodology of Satyagraha (devotion to truth) was adopted by thousands of his followers and during
the seven-year long struggle; thousands of Indians were jailed (including Gandhi), beaten and
punished for striking and refusing to register. Though the government successfully repressed the
protest through its harsh methods, the impact of this protest forced the government to initiate for a
compromise with Gandhi. Gandhi’s idea of non-violence and truth developed during this period.
 
Indian Independence struggle and Gandhi
(1916-1945)
Gandhi’s Satyagraha started from Champaran and kheda, where the condition of farmers was
worsened by landlords (mostly British) by imposing taxes and leaving them in an abject poverty. The
peasants were forced to grow cash crops instead of food crops necessary for their survival, and this
led to a situation of famine there.
 
To end that devastating famine and poverty Gandhi organized detailed survey and study, based
upon which he began leading the cleaning of the villages, building of schools and hospitals,
encouraging villagers to condemn and combat many social evils including pardah and untouchability.
Gandhi organized protests and strikes against the landlords that resulted in to the cancellation of the
revenue hikes and collection of taxes until the famine ended.
 Kofi Atta Annan, a diplomat from the West African country of Ghana was the first to emerge from
the ranks of United Nations (UN) staff to serve as the Secretary-General of the UN. He served as
the seventh UN Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006. The UN and Annan were jointly awarded the
The Nobel Peace Prize 2001 "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world". While
he was the Secretary-General, he prioritized the establishment of a comprehensive reforms
programme aimed at revitalizing the UN. UN had traditionally been working in the areas of
development and he worked for further strengthening this work. A passionate advocate of human
rights, and a strong believer in the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity, Annan
wanted to bring the UN closer to the people by reaching out to new partners, and thereby restore
public confidence in the organization. He had a major part to play in the establishment of two new
intergovernmental bodies: the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council in 2005.
He also played a pivotal role in the creation of the Global Funds to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria. He strongly opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Iran's nuclear programme. After his
retirement from the UN in 2006, he returned to Ghana where he is involved with a number of African
as well as global organizations.

Childhood & Early Life

 Kofi Atta Annan and his twin sister Efua Atta were born to Victoria and Henry Reginald
Annan in Kumasi, Ghana. Henry Reginald used to work as an export manager for the Lever
Brothers cocoa company. 
 Both of his grandfathers and his uncle were tribal chiefs and he was raised in one of Ghana's
aristocratic families.
 He attended the elite Mfantsipim School, a Methodist boarding school from 1954 to 1957. It
was here that he learnt "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere."  
 Ghana became the first British African colony to gain independence in 1957, the same year
when Annan graduated from the Mfantsipim School. As a member of the generation that
witnessed their country’s independence struggle and subsequent victory, he grew up thinking that
everything was possible. 
 He joined the Kumasi College of Science and Technology in 1958 for a degree in
economics. Receiving a Ford foundation grant enabled him to complete his undergraduate studies
in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1961.
 He then undertook graduate studies in economics at the Institut universitaire des hautes
études internationales in Geneva, Switzerland from 1961 to 1962.
 A British statesman and naval officer, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten was a
man of honor. Born with the title His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenburg in the international
royal family background, he went on to become Lord Louis Mountbatten. Over his life, he held the
titles of The Right Honourable The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma and The Earl Mountbatten of
Burma. Informally known as Lord Mountbatten, he achieved great heights during his life.
Mountbatten’s career involved extensive naval commands, the diplomatic negotiation of
independence for India and Pakistan, and the highest military defence leaderships. Initially starting
off as an officer cadet in the Royal Navy, through his intense hard work, dedication and commitment,
he raised on to the most coveted position of the British Royal Navy, Admiral of the Fleet. Other than
his service at the Navy, Lord Mountbatten assisted in the Britain’s exit from India and the latter’s
emergence as one of the independent nations of the world. For the same, Lord Mountbatten was
made the last Viceroy of British India and later held the chair of the Governor General of
independent India, being the first to do so. For his exceptional contribution in the Royal Navy, Lord
Mountbatten was honoured and decorated by British and other countries of the world.

Childhood & Early Life

 Born to Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife Princess Victoria of Hesse, Louis Francis
Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten was the youngest of the four children of the couple. He had
two sisters, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Queen Louise of Sweden and a brother
George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven. Since his birth, he was popularly known by
the title His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg.  
 Mountbatten received his education at home for the first ten years of his life after which he
was sent to Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire. Thereafter, he shifted to the Royal Naval
College, Osborne in 1913.
 Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul is a physician turned politician who served in the U.S. House of
Representatives for Texas multiple times. His political ideologies are a combination of Libertarian
and Republican views and he is an outspoken critic of the federal government’s fiscal policies,
especially the Federal Reserve and the War on Drugs. A physician by profession, he worked as an
obstetrician-gynecologist and helped to deliver more than 4,000 babies. He served as a flight
surgeon in the U.S. Air Force and later with the U.S. Air National Guard. The son of a dairy farmer,
he earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Duke University's School of Medicine and specialized
in obstetrics and gynecology. He was also deeply interested in economics. Acquainted with the
economists Hans Sennholz and Murray Rothbard, the doctor also developed his own economic
theories. He entered politics and served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas’s 14th and
22nd congressional districts. He was made the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a
Sound Economy and hailed as the “intellectual godfather” of the Tea Party Movement. He is a
prolific writer and has authored several works on political and economic theory.

Childhood & Early Life

 He was born as one of the five sons of Howard Caspar Paul and his wife Margaret. His
father owned a dairy company and young Ron helped him in running it.  
 He was an athletic youngster who attended Dormont High School. He graduated from
Gettysburg College in 1957 with a B.S. degree in Biology.  
 He went to Duke University’s School of Medicine and earned a Doctor of Medicine in 1961.
He completed his medical internship at the Henry Ford Hospital. He specialized in obstetrics and
gynecology.