Life story
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in South Africa. He grew up in a land divided by racial injustice, and from those origins he drew the resolve that would shape the course of his nation's history.
Mandela became an anti-apartheid activist, statesman, and revolutionary. Ideologically an African nationalist, he devoted himself to the struggle against a system of legalized segregation, and he served as president of the African National Congress from 1991 to 1997.
In 1994 he became the first president of South Africa to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, and the country's first Black head of state. His administration worked to dismantle the legacy of apartheid through racial reconciliation, a national peace accord, and eventual multiracial democracy.
Mandela died on 5 December 2013 and was laid to rest in Qunu, the village of his childhood. He is remembered as a figure of reconciliation whose life gave enduring meaning to the pursuit of freedom and human dignity.
Životopisné údaje z verejných zdrojov. Portrét: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.