Nelson Mandela
President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999
Who was Nelson Mandela?
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( man-DEL-ə, Xhosa: [xolíɬaɬa mandɛ̂ːla]; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, statesman, and revolutionary who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944.
Historical significance
He was the country's first Black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His administration focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation, a national peace accord and eventual multiracial democracy.
![Mandela and Evelyn in July 1944 at Walter and Albertina Sisulu's wedding party in the Bantu Men's Social Centre[57]](/image-proxy?src=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fa%2Fa4%2FMandela_e_Evelyn_1944.jpg%2F330px-Mandela_e_Evelyn_1944.jpg&w=760&q=82)