Biography of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was born in 1918 in the village of Mvezo in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. He was the first of four children in his family. His father was a tribal chief.
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Mandela was educated at a local mission school and later at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand. He became involved in the anti-apartheid movement in the 1940s, and in 1952 he helped found the Congress of the People, which called for a multi-racial democracy in South Africa.
In the 1950s, Mandela was arrested and charged with treason, but was acquitted in 1961. He then led the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), Umkhonto we Sizwe, in acts of sabotage against the government. In 1962, he was arrested again and sentenced to life in prison. He spent the next 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island.
While in prison, Mandela became a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement and of resistance to racial oppression. He was released from prison in 1990, and in 1994 he was elected as South Africa's first black president in the first multi-racial democratic elections.
As president, Mandela worked to unite the country and to address the economic and social inequalities created by apartheid. He created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address human rights abuses committed under apartheid. He also worked to improve education and healthcare, and to fight poverty.
Mandela retired from politics in 1999, but continued to be active in philanthropic and charitable causes, particularly those related to poverty, HIV/AIDS, and reconciliation. He passed away on December 5, 2013. He is considered one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century and is remembered for his fight against racial oppression and for his efforts to bring about a peaceful and just society in South Africa.
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