Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
18 July 1918 - 5 December 2013
"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived; it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."
Taken from Nelson Mandela Foundation
Mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla, was a towering figure in both South African and international history. Mandela was an anti-apartheid revolutionary, philanthropist, and political leader who became South Africa's first democratically elected black president in 1994. He was a founding member of the African National Congress, which for decades led the fight against the oppressive apartheid regime, and he played a critical role in the negotiation process that resulted in the liberation of millions of South Africans. Mandela's influence surpassed South Africa's borders; he was hailed as a global symbol of reconciliation. His contributions to the struggle altered the course of South Africa's history for the foreseeable future.
Early Life
On July 18, 1918, Rolihlahla Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo, in the Eastern Cape into the Madiba clan. His father was Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, principal counselor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo, and his mother was Nonqaphi Nosekeni. In 1925, Mandela attended a primary school near Qunu where he would receive the name, Nelson. In 1930, his father passed away and he became a ward of Jongintaba at the Great Place in Mqhekezweni. He received his Junior Certificate from Clarkebury Boarding Institute and his Matriculation from Wesleyan Secondary School.
University and Johannesburg
Mandela enrolled at the University of Fort Hare (the only black university in South Africa) near Alice, in the Eastern Cape in 1939. He began a Bachelor of Arts degree but was expelled for participating in a student protest. During his time at Fort Hare, he met many Indians, Coloureds, and Africans who would later play important roles in the anti-apartheid struggle, one of them being Oliver Tambo, who would later become his partner in their law firm.
After being expelled from Fort Hare, he returned to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni. The King was unimpressed with him and offered him the choice of either returning to Fort Hare or having his wives arranged for him. Mandela was opposed to this and fled to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1941. Within a few months of arriving in Johannesburg, Mandela met a young estate agent named Walter Sisulu who would mentor him.
African National Congress
From 1942, Mandela became increasingly involved in politics and in 1944, he joined the African National Congress (ANC). A group of young intellectuals, including Mandela, Sisulu, Tambo, Ashley Mda, and Anton Lembede, clarified their dissatisfaction with the ANC's policies and their appeasement. This resulted in the formation of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in April 1944. Sisulu, Tambo, and Mandela drafted up the Programme of Action, which called for the ANC to become more militant. The National Party (NP) won a whites-only election in 1948, becoming South Africa's ruling party and instituting apartheid (meaning apartness in Afrikaans).
Mandela was the ANCYL's National Secretary, and the organization began lobbying the ANC to invest in militant mass action against apartheid. The ANC adopted the Programme of Action at its annual conference in December 1949. The programme included boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes, and other nonviolent forms of resistance to the government's segregationist laws. Mandela was charged with violating the Suppression of Communism Act in 1952 for his role in the civil disobedience campaign and sentenced to nine months of hard labour and a banning order prohibiting him from participating in ANC activities. In August of that same year, he and Tambo began the first black South African law firm with his two-year diploma in law and BA.
Treason and Rivonia Trials
The ANC convened a People's Congress, inviting all South Africans to submit proposals for a post-apartheid era. This resulted in the creation of the Freedom Charter, which called for the establishment of a democratic and non-racial state. The charter was adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, but Mandela could not attend due to his exclusion order. Mandela and 155 other people were arrested and charged with treason following a police raid on 5 December 1956. Mandela married Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela in 1958 during the trial, which lasted four and a half years.
On 30 March 1960, the government declared a state of emergency in response to the Sharpeville Massacre, which claimed 69 lives on 21 March. Additionally, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and the African National Congress (ANC) were banned on 8 April. Mandela was acquitted in the Treason Trial a year later, and he immediately went underground, eventually becoming committed to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (the Spear of the Nation, also known as MK), the ANC's military wing.
Mandela secretly fled South Africa in January 1962 under the alias David Motsamayi. He travelled to England and throughout Africa in order to galvanize support for the armed struggle. He was, however, arrested in July upon his return to South Africa for leaving the country without a permit. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which he began at the Pretoria Local Prison. He was then transferred to Robben Island and was released on 12 June 1963. Within a month, police raided Liliesleaf, a secret hideout used by ANC and Communist Party activists in Rivonia, Johannesburg, and arrested several of his comrades. Mandela was charged with sabotage alongside ten others on 9 October 1963 in what became known as the Rivonia Trial. On 11 June 1964, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He, along with seven others, was detained on Robben Island.
Prison and Presidency
Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island before being transferred to Pollsmoor Prison on 31 March 1982, along with Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba, and Andrew Mlangeni, while Ahmed Kathrada, Elias Motosoaledi, and Govan Mbeki remained on the island until April. The Anti-Apartheid Movement, which gained international recognition the following year, was one of the most united movements in history. It demanded economic and other sanctions against South Africa, as well as Mandela's release. Mandela was visited in November 1985 in hospital following prostate surgery by Justice Minister Kobi Coetsee, and the two later discussed the apartheid government's meeting with the ANC.
Mandela at Wits University
Mandela earned his BA from the University of South Africa in 1942 and enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1943 to pursue a BA degree in law. While at university, he became acquainted with Joe Slovo and Ruth First, both of whom were prominent members of the South African Communist Party.
Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison on 11 February 1990, nine days after President FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and PAC. Until 1994, the ANC negotiated with the National Party government, a journey fraught with complications and opposition to the future democracy. Mandela was, however, inaugurated as South Africa's first black and democratically elected president on 10 May 1994, a position he would hold until 1999.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela died in his Johannesburg home on December 5, 2013.
“Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life is an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived; and to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.”
– Nelson Mandela Foundation
References
Biography of Nelson Mandela – Nelson Mandela Foundation (2021). Available at: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
gateway, S. (2019) Nelson Mandela 1918-2013: the timeline of a lifetime - South Africa Gateway, South Africa Gateway. Available at: https://southafrica- info.com/history/nelson-mandela-timeline/ (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
Mandela's Life and Times - Black History Month 2020 (2008). Available at: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-heroes/mandelas-life-and- times/ (Accessed: 11 January 2021).
Nelson Mandela | Biography, Life, Death, & Facts (2021). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nelson-Mandela#ref282994 (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela | South African History Online (2021). Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nelson-rolihlahla-mandela (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
NPR Cookie Consent and Choices (2021). Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/06/11/190671704/the-day-nelson- mandela-walked-out-of-prison (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
Timeline – Nelson Mandela Foundation (2021). Available at: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/timeline (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
8 Ways Nelson Mandela Changed the World — (RED) (2018). Available at: https://www.red.org/reditorial/2018/7/18/8-ways-nelson-mandela-changed-the-world (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
17 Wise Nelson Mandela Quotes That Will Inspire Your Success (2018). Available at: https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/17-wise-nelson-mandela-quotes-that-will- inspire-your-success.html (Accessed: 14 January 2021).
