Born: July 18, 1918, Mvezo, South Africa

Education: Healdtown mission school, 1937–39; University College of Fort Hare, 1940–41; University of South Africa, B.A., 1943

Died: December 5, 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa

South Africa's apartheid system, wherein a white minority segregated and ruled a black majority, stirred rising protests in the 1980s. Mandela was a revered hero. Leader of the African National Congress’ (ANC) armed freedom struggle, he had been incarcerated more than twenty-seven years when international sanctions pressured state authorities to free him in 1990. Mandela led in building an unsegregated, democratic nation. Co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1993), he became the first black president of South Africa.

He was a visionary. In 1992 he succeeded Oliver Tambo, his former law partner, as head of ANC, which today advocates peaceful change. At the same time, Mandela and President F. W. De Clerk created a plan for multiracial democracy, signing a Record of Understanding that included a new constitution and free elections. In 1994, with blacks voting for the first time and in a great number, ANC outvoted all parties and Mandela won the presidency. President Mandela worked for peace and reform, establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help heal racial wounds; he mediated African wars. He pursued trade and foreign investment to sustain the economy and finance critical social reforms, including education. After serving one term, he stepped aside in 1999.