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The former South African president died on Dec. 5 at the age of 95. He will be greatly missed.
Nelson Mandela died on Dec.5, 2013. He had been suffering from a recurring lung infection and was frequently in the hospital over the last year. The revolutionary leader leaves behind an incredible legacy and will not be forgotten. He was an incredibly passionate and dedicated human being and we are so sad to see him go.
Nelson Mandela Dead — ‘Will Sleep for Eternity’
In an interview for the documentary, Mandela (1996), Nelson said, “Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.” Nelson truly committed himself to making the world a better place, and he succeeded.
Nelson Mandela’s Accomplishments
Nelson is credited for establishing South Africa’s democracy. After serving 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid, he became a major international figure. Along with the F.W. de Klerk, the South African President in 1993, Nelson won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994, Nelson was elected as the president of South Africa, and served one term, through 1999. He became an icon and a greatly admired leader. In 2012, South Africa printed a new set of banknotes, featuring Nelson smiling on the front of them as a tribute to him.
Even after Nelson’s presidency was over, he remained active in mediating conflicts from Africa to the Middle East.
Nelson once said, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” He has influenced an incredible number of lives and will be missed tremendously.
An Everlasting Legacy
Mandela was one of the most revered leaders of the 20th century and his legacy will forever be the abolition of apartheid in South Africa.
The man endearingly known throughout South Africa as Madiba – his Xhosa clan name, which literally translates to grandfather – cemented his place in history when he became the first democratically elected president – black or white.
As a founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), which was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), Mandela was a militant anti-apartheid activist from a young age.
He was sentenced to life in prison after being charged and convicted of sabotage in 1962.
Left to the mercy of the prison guards in a white supremacist South Africa, his release 27 years later in 1990 set in motion the cogs of an anti-apartheid movement that had the backing of much of the world.
His release was all the more astonishing for a total lack of animosity toward his captors. In a speech on the day of his release, Mandela quoted his own words, which he spoke at his trial in 1962:
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
“It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Four years later apartheid in South Africa had ended and in 1995 Mandela became the first elected president – ending the irony behind the name the Republic of South Africa.
His presidency was spent building what his inaugural address called a “rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world”.
As the ANC party under Mandela began to dismantle the racial divide, his attention turned to the issue of HIV/AIDS, which according to the World Health Organisation, affects about 6.5 million people in South Africa.
But the crusade was more personal for Mandela, who lost his eldest son in 2005 to the disease at the age of 54.
After his departure from politics, Mandela also sought to step away from the public eye with appearances in recent years becoming fewer and farther between.
His last public appearance was in 2010 when South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones at this time.
