Nelson Mendela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela commonly known as Nelson Mandela was one of the
most loved and respected leader in the world. Nelson Mandela was born into the
Madiba clan in the village of Mvezo, in the Eastern Cape, on 18 July 1918.
Mandela was also the first black President of his country, South Africa.  He served
as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997 . He is
famous for promoting a message of forgiveness and equality. He worked to take
apart the old racist system of government and to make South Africa a fair society
for all its citizens. For his contribution, South Africa held its first fully-democratic
elections in which black people, as well as white, were allowed to vote. He was a
leader of both peaceful protests and armed resistance against the white
minority’s oppressive regime in a racially divided South Africa. His actions
landed him in prison for nearly three decades and made him the face of
the antiapartheid movement both within his country and internationally.
He led South Africa from the chain of apartheid to a multi -racial democracy.
Nelson mendela was the first member of his family to go to school. .He was sent
to Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school with some reputation where he
enrolled after getting a primary education at a local mission school. He then
registered for the Bachelor of Arts degree at Fort Hare University College where he
was appointed to the Representative Council of the Student. Also, he was suspended
for joining a protest boycott from college. He went to Johannesburg where, by
correspondence, he finished his BA, took clerkship papers and began studying for
his LLB. In 1944, Mandela helped start the African National Congress Youth
League. He was soon a high-ranked leader of the group. By 1948 he failed his LLB
(law degree) examination; and decided to practice as an attorney. He started
protesting against apartheid.He wanted to free South Africa without violence, but
the government started killing and hurting protesters. In 1962 Mandela was
sentenced for five years of imprisonment for travel without valid travel
documents. Two years later during his detension in 1964, was charged with
treason and sentenced him to life imprisonment for giving a four-and-a-half hours
of speech criticizing apartheid which is memorable. Being the leader of the group,
Nelson received more harsh treatment than the others. He was kept 23 hours in
his cell every day, merely lit by a lamp. Because of which he was unable to sleep
or know what the time was. He was only allowed to have one visitor once in six
months and he was once not allowed to see his wife (Winnie) for two years. He
was allowed to write and receive one letter every six months. The letters he
received was screened by the guard, who would cut and remove the parts that
were considered unsafe or effectively erasing. Mandela spent twenty-seven
consecutive years of his life in detention. For 18 years (1964 – 1982) he was held
on Robben Island, in 1982 he was moved to Pollsmoor Prison, Cape Town, and in
1988 he was again moved to Victor Verster Prison, in Paarl, till 1990. From 1985
on he rejected several offers of “conditional” release which would have imposed
limitations on his political activities. His imprisonment improved his political
status which resulted in worldwide campaign to release him. He left prison after
de Klerk removed a ban on the African National Congress. Nelson Mandela
received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. It was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela
and Frederik Willem de Klerk. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership for
his anti-apartheid activism in 1993.In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, he won
over 250 other awards. In 1991 eventually he was elected as the President of the
ANC. Later he was elected democratic manner as the President of the State
of South Africa in 1994. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served
as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.
He established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, providing a safe place to
investigate past human rights abuses, avoiding civil war and bloodshed. He
established measures to combat poverty and expand healthcare services. As
President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela improved the living standards  and
facilities of South Africa’s black population, who had suffered for decades under
apartheid. He also worked hard to make South Africa a country of equality, where
people of all race and colour lived together in peace.in 1999, he founded the
Nelson mendela foundation, an organisation that works to this day to promote
the principals of equality, freedom and peace. He continued to work with the
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund he set up in 1995 and established the Nelson
Mandela Foundation and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. Mandela became
known for his use of Batik shirts, known as Madiba shirts, even on normal events.
As president, Mandela received a lot of money, but he still lived a simple life and
donated lots of money to charity. Despite his surroundings, Mandela lived
simply, donating a third of his $552,000 wealth to the Nelson Mandela Children's
Fund.In 1999,Mandela retires from politics. Mandela announces his retirement
from public life in 2004. Mandela was sick for several years during his retirement.
He was hospitalized in late summer of 2013 from a continuous lung infection.
Mandela died on 5 December 2013 in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg from
a respiratory tract infection. He was 95 years old. Nelson mendela international
day or Mendela day is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela,
celebrated each year on 18 July, Mandela's birthday. The day was officially
declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day
held on 18 July 2010. He is one of the greatest leaders to ever step foot on this
Earth. He sort for freedom through bringing people together. He is widely accepted
as the most significant black leader in South Africa . We all should respect him.

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