Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943 and co-founded its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid—a system of racial segregation that privileged whites—he and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. Mandela was released on February 11, 1990, after spending 27 years in prison. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his efforts to end apartheid. He died on December 5, 2013, in Johannesburg at the age of 95.