Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, the first black President of

South Africa, became a hero to people across
the globe. He was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1993 for his wisdom and courage in
bringing people together to live in peace and
harmony. Such was the impact of this powerful
politician, that a new species of spiders is
named after him.
Nelson Mandela was a civil rights leader in
South Africa. He gained popularity and respect
for his long fight against apartheid (racial
prejudice) and bad governance. Apartheid was
a system where non-white (blacks) citizens
were differentiated from the white race. They

did not enjoy equal rights and often worked as

slaves for the white citizens in South Africa.
They were ill-treated and lived in very poor
conditions. Nelson Mandela along with many
others fought hard for his people to enjoy equal
rights to citizenship in South Africa.
He served 27 years in prison as punishment for
his protests against the apartheid government.
After he was freed from the prison, he worked
harder to achieve human rights and a healthier
future for people in South Africa. Later he
became the President of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela was born as Rolihlahla
Mandela on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, South
Africa. Rolihlahla Mandela, meant troublemaker
and to pull a branch off a tree.
He grew up in a poor family in a small South
African village. When he was 7 years old, his
schoolteacher nicknamed him Nelson and that
name stuck with him. In his autobiography,
Long Walk to Freedom, published in December
1994 he revealed the truth behind his
nickname. The excerpt from his book reads

No one in my family had ever attended school.

On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss
Mdingane, gave each of us an English name.
This was the custom among Africans in those
days and was undoubtedly due to the British
bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane
told me that my new name was Nelson. Why
this particular name I have, no idea.
When he was nine, Mandela was adopted by
his fathers friend, who belonged to the Thimbu
Royalty and was a prosperous clan chief of the
Mvezo city.
Mandela attended school and later college at
the Fort Hare Missionary College and the
University of Witwatersrand. He earned a
degree in Law at the University of
Witwatersrand, and here he met some of his
fellow civil rights activists.
In school, Nelson Mandela learned about the
African history and his forefathers struggle with
discrimination and poverty. He wanted to help
his people. As he grew up, Mandela traveled to
Johannesburg to study Law; and he started the
nations first black Law practice, here. Later, he

joined the African National Congress (ANC), a

group that fought for racial equality.
Nelson Mandela joined the African National
Congress and soon became its leader. Initially,
he forced the congress and the protesters to
follow the non-violence approach preached by
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's (Mahatma
Gandhi). But later, he was doubtful that this
peaceful protest would work and created an
armed branch of the ANC. He planned to bomb
specific government buildings, without hurting
or killing people. He was caught and deemed
as a terrorist by the Government of South Africa
and was sent to prison.
In 1948, the government introduced racial
segregation policy, which prevented the nonwhite population from gaining economic
opportunities. In response, Nelson Mandela
toured across South Africa and encouraged
people to participate in non-violent protests
against the apartheid. Soon, he was arrested
for establishing anti-government activities and
was sentenced to a life in prison. His
imprisonment led to severe protests on the

globe that eventually eased the economic

sanctions for his people in South Africa.
For the next 27 years, he served his prison
sentence, which brought his anti-apartheid
movement in limelight on an international level.
Several people from around the globe joined his
campaign and in early 1990s, apartheid
practices ended.
In the prison, often, he was co-erced to end his
movement in exchange of winning his freedom,
but he refused to bend his principles, and said,
he would rather die for his cause- where people
of all races enjoy equal rights in South Africa.
He was finally released in 1990.
On 11 February 1990, F.W. de Klerk, South
African President released Nelson Mandela
from the prison, and they worked together to
end the apartheid. Three years later, they both
won the Nobel Peace Prize for their dedicated
efforts.
Upon his release from the prison, he won the
first democratic election in 1994 and became
the President of South Africa. Finally, his life-

long effort at ending the apartheid had paid off,

as all ethnic groups were allowed to vote in this
election. During his anti-apartheid movement,
Nelson Mandela was a strong force in
maintaining the peace and calm in the country
and preventing violence.
In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as the
first black President of South Africa. During his
tenure at the office, he worked towards
improving education, housing, and economic
opportunities for the nations huge black
population. In 1999, Nelson Mandela retired
from his Presidency and in the same year, he
established the Nelson Mandelas Children
Fund - a charity to help poor South African
children.
Nelson Mandela continued to promote peace
around the world. In 2007, he found The Eldersan organization of world leaders, committed to
stopping conflicts and encouraging human
rights in the world.
Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013
following a lung illness.

The United Nations declared a Global

Holiday on his birthday, 18 June as- Nelson
Mandela International Holiday.
One of Mandelas famous saying was
Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.