South African politician and lawyer, president from 1994.
He was president of the African National Congress (ANC) 1991-97.
Imprisoned from 1964, as organizer of the then banned ANC, he became a symbol
of unity for the worldwide anti-apartheid movement. In February 1990 he was released,
the ban on the ANC having been lifted, and entered into negotiations with the government
about a multiracial future for South Africa. In May 1994 he was sworn in as
South Africa's first post-apartheid president after the ANC won 62.65% of
the vote in universal-suffrage elections. He shared the Nobel Prize for
Peace in 1993 with South African president F W de Klerk.
Mandela was born near Umbata, south of Lesotho, the son of a local chief.
In a trial of several ANC leaders, he was acquitted of treason in 1961, but
was once more arrested in 1964 and given a life sentence on charges of
sabotage and plotting to overthrow the government. In February 1990 he was
released from prison on the orders of state president F W de Klerk and in
July 1991 was elected, unopposed, to the presidency of the ANC. In December
1991 the ANC began constitutional negotiations with the government and in
February 1993 Mandela and President de Klerk agreed to the formation of a
government of national unity after free, nonracial elections (that took
place in 1994). Relations between Mandela and de Klerk deteriorated when
former members of de Klerk's security forces were prosecuted in March 1996.
He stepped down as ANC president in December 1997 and was replaced by his
former deputy Thabo Mbeki.
Mandela married the South African civil-rights activist Winnie Mandela in
1955. They separated in 1992 and were divorced in 1996. His autobiography,
Long Walk to Freedom (1994) was widely acclaimed, and his state visit to
Britain in July 1996 was a resounding success.
"Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela", Copyright The Hutchinson Multimedia
Encyclopedia Copyright (c) 1999 Helicon Publishing Ltd., part of The
Canadian Encyclopedia 2000 World Edition Copyright (c) 1999 by
McClelland & Stewart Inc.
Other Links of interest
The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela
Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela
