Nelson Mandela
(b. 1918)

Born in South Africa, in 1918, Nelson Mandela was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu people. Mandela gave up his right to be the next chieftain in order to become a lawyer. In 1944, two years after receiving his law degree from the University of South Africa, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), a black liberation group. In 1949, he became one of its leaders, helping to revitalize the organization's resistance against apartheid, the policy of strict racial segregation and political and economical discrimination against nonwhites. Because of his involvement with the ANC, Mandela was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. While in prison, he was tried for sabotage, treason, and violent conspiracy against the government, for which he received a sentence of life imprisonment.

During his time in prison, Mandela's popularity among South Africa's black population grew. His imprisonment also became a cause for the international community that condemned apartheid.

Finally, in 1990, 28 years after his initial imprisonment, Mandela was released from prison by South African president, F. W. de Klerk. One month later, Mandela was chosen to become deputy president of the ANC. During this time, he and President de Klerk worked to end apartheid and bring about a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy in South Africa. They both received the Nobel Prize for Peace for their efforts.

In 1994, Mandela ran for president of South Africa. In April of that same year, Mandela, along with millions of other black South Africans, voted for the first time in an election. Mandela won the election and became the first black South African president. He remained president until 1999 when he retired from active politics. Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, was published in 1994.

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