Nelson Mandela

Biography

Mandela's genius was patience: 27 years of prison converted a militant lawyer into a statesman who chose negotiation over vengeance. The 1994 transition he led — Truth and Reconciliation over civil war — became the template the world cites whenever enemies must become citizens together.

South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who spent 27 years in prison before leading his country to democracy.

Known for

Ending apartheid and becoming South Africa's first democratically elected president.

Notable works & defining projects

• Long Walk to Freedom (autobiography)
• The ANC presidency
• South Africa's first democratic election (1994)

Notable achievements

• Imprisoned by the apartheid regime from 1962 to 1990
• Co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
• Became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, serving until 1999

Timeline

1. 1944Co-founded the ANC Youth League
2. 1962Arrested; he would spend 27 years in prison, most on Robben Island
3. 1994Voted for the first time in his life — in the election that made him president

Did you know?

• His prison number, 466/64 — prisoner 466 of 1964 — became a global symbol, later used in his HIV/AIDS awareness campaign
• He co-founded Mandela and Tambo in Johannesburg in 1952, South Africa's first Black law firm