Nelson Mandela Dies Aged 95

Mandela was born in the Transkei region on July 18, 1919, the son of a Xhosa chieftain. Having cut short his studies at Fort Hare University after boycotting student elections, Mandela went on to study law, supporting himself by working first as a gold mine security guard and later as an estate agent.After the introduction of apartheid in 1948, he and other young radicals took over the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), turning it into a militant campaigning political organisation. While committed to non-violence, the ANC mounted civil disobedience campaigns that led to the arrest of eight and a half thousand people.

The killing of 69 blacks, including women and children, by security forces during a protest against apartheid laws in Sharpeville in 1960 became a watershed. The massacre led to the ANC abandoning its policy of non-violence and Mandela was among the first to advocate armed resistance, going underground in 1961 to form the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation).

During the next two years the ANC blew up public buildings and power lines, cut telephone links and committed widespread arson. Mandela left South Africa and travelled the continent andEurope, studying guerrilla warfare and building support for the ANC. After his return in 1962 he was captured and sentenced to five years for incitement and illegally leaving the country.

While serving this sentence Mandela was charged along with other anti-apartheid leaders in the 1963 Rivonia treason trial. In June 1964 he was given a life sentence with hard labour.

Mandela's imprisonment began with breaking rocks on the notorious Robben Island prison in Table Bay off Cape Town, a place of incarceration infamous for more than 200 years. A life sentence at this time generally meant 20 years with time off for good behaviour. Mandela was to serve 27 years.

While Mandela and his comrades languished in prison, the ANC, though banned, did not go away. Thousands died but the more the government cracked down the more young blacks flocked to its ranks. Although not the most effective guerrilla organisation the ANC gained support within and outside South Africa and boycotts of black schools and white businesses proved as effective as the bomb.

In 1988 an estimated 400 million people watched a tribute concert given by superstars of the rock and pop world to mark Mandela's 70th birthday. He became the world's most celebrated political prisoner despite the fact that few people knew what he really looked like.

After nearly three decades in jail Mandela walked from Victor Verster prison a free man on February 11, 1990 having refused to bargain for his release. Mandela wrote of that day "As I finally walked through those gates ... I felt even at the age of 71 that my life was beginning anew. My 10,000 days of imprisonment were at last over."

Two days after his release he returned home to a tumultuous welcome from the people of Sowetowhere more than 120,000 people packed a stadium for the biggest political rally in South African history.

Less than three months later Mandela led an unbanned ANC delegation in the first face-to-face talks with South African President F.W. De Klerk and government officials. Mandela's election as ANC president in July 1991, replacing the ailing Oliver Tambo, gave him greater authority to negotiate with the white-led government.

Mandela faced possibly his most painful trial when his second wife Winnie was convicted of kidnapping four youths and of being an accessory to assault. In April 1992 he announced their separation citing "personal reasons". Details of a cold relationship and Winnie's affairs with younger men emerged in a public divorce hearing in 1996.

Mandela and De Klerk were jointly awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts to end white domination and pave the way for transforming South Africa into a multi-racial democracy. Although he accused De Klerk's government of not doing enough to stop political and racial violence, Mandela agreed to accept the joint prize as a gesture of reconciliation.

While Mandela has spoken of his anger at his incarceration by the National Party, generally he has not dwelt in public on his suffering behind bars. During a visit to Robben Island on the fourth anniversary of his release, he said he and his cellmates felt the sacrifice had been worthwhile.

Political violence, mainly between ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters, during the lead-up to the country's first all-race elections cost thousands of lives. Talks between Mandela, IFP leader Chief Mangosutu Buthelezi and De Klerk eventually resulted in Buthelezi calling off his election boycott after agreement was reached on a constitutional amendment to entrench the Zulu monarchy in the national constitution.

In April 1994 an estimated 23 million people cast their votes during four days of voting in an election hampered by logistical problems but relatively free of violence. The ANC won 62.25% of the vote and control of eight of the nine regional assemblies.

Speaking after voting Mandela quoted from the now famous address he made during the Rivonia trial. "I have fought very firmly against white domination, I have fought very firmly against black domination, I cherish the idea of a new South Africa where all South Africans are equal", he said.

On May 10th, 1994 Mandela was formally inaugurated as South Africa's first black head of state before a world audience. A Mandela presidency, something millions of black South Africans had only dared dream about, had become a reality.

Mandela made reconciliation the theme of his presidency. The hallmark of his crusade was theTruth and Reconciliation Commission which probed apartheid crimes on both sides of the struggle and tried to heal the country's wounds.

He won over many whites when he donned the jersey of South Africa's all-white national rugby team during the 1995 World Cup tournament.

Mandela played a key role on the world stage and the world lined up to be seen with him. From U.S. President Bill Clinton to the Dalai Lama, world leaders extolled his humanity, dignity and ready smile.

He acted as mediator during the first face-to-face talks between Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko and rebel leader Laurent Kabila. His efforts at peacemaking broke down and Mobutu eventually fled into exile but Mandela was credited with helping to limit the violence when Kabila took over in the renamed Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mandela's close ties with apartheid-era ANC supporters Libya, Iran and Cuba irked Washington, but his friendship with Muammar Gaddafi paved the way to Libya handing over two alleged intelligence agents indicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

On his 80th birthday, in July 1998, Mandela married his third wife Graca Machel, widow of former Mozambican president Samora Machel.

The following year Mandela, often criticised for having a woolly grasp of economic issues, handed over to a new generation of leaders headed by Thabo Mbeki. His decision to step down voluntarily after one five-year term as president was seen as a shining example to other African leaders who stubbornly clung to power.

After leaving office Mandela took on the role of elder statesman. He brokered a power sharing agreement between warring Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi but failed to obtain the release of thousands of political prisoners.

At home Mandela made headlines when he publicly challenged the government's controversial views on HIV/AIDS. He was given a standing ovation from 15,000 delegates when he attended the world's biggest AIDS conference in Barcelona in July 2002.

He maintained a hectic schedule at home and abroad raising funds for his charitable organisations, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. The charities have contributed millions of dollars towards the building of schools, clinics and other facilities throughoutSouth Africa.

In May 2003 Mandela led South Africa in mourning the death of anti-apartheid hero Walter Sisulu. Mandela was deeply saddened by the loss of his close friend and mentor, who in 1941 had taken him in as a lodger and encouraged him to join the ANC.

The following year, shortly before his 86th birthday, Mandela formally bowed out of public life, saying he was "retiring from retirement" and his punishing schedule of public appearances.

In January 2005 he announced that his eldest son Makgatho had died from HIV/AIDS at the age of 54, using his personal tragedy to once again exhort South Africans to confront the epidemic in the country with the highest infection rate in the world.

Mandela spent long periods at home with his family following his retirement but continued to make occasional public appearances, attending fund-raising events and meeting visiting dignitaries.

Months of international celebrations marked his 90th birthday throughout the summer of 2008. Appearing frail but smiling he attended numerous events held to rally support for his charitable work and to pay tribute to his life.

Mandela steered clear of politics and the power struggle which resulted in the election of Jacob Zuma as ANC leader in 2007 and the subsequent ousting of President Thabo Mbeki. He supported Zuma in the April 2009 presidential elections and attended Zuma's inauguration ceremony following a fourth successive ANC victory.

Following the death of his 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani in a road accident, Mandela cancelled plans to attend the opening game of the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg in June 2010. Accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel, Mandela joined his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, his daughter Zindzi, his granddaughter Zoleka and hundreds of mourners at Zenani's funeral.

Mandela and Graca Machel briefly toured the Soccer City stadium during the World Cup closing ceremony where he received an ecstatic welcome from the crowd. It was to be his last major public appearance.

Mandela remains a hero to many of South Africa's 52 million people and two brief stretches in hospital in the last two years made front page news.

In January 2011 he received hospital treatment for an acute respiratory condition. In February this year he underwent a keyhole examination after he was admitted to Pretoria's '1 Military' hospital suffering from acute abdominal pain.

He has spent most of the time since then at his home in his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

His fragile health prevents him from making public appearances although he has continued to receive high-profile domestic and international visitors, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mandela's charisma and commitment to reconciliation with the white rulers who jailed him for 27 years enabled South Africa to move from white minority rule to democracy without triggering a civil war. After a life of nationalist struggle and imprisonment he made the transition from the world's most famous prisoner to the world's most respected statesman.

Acclaimed by all sides of society in South Africa and recognised as the undoubted elder statesman and moral authority of Africa, Mandela enjoys international affection, admiration and prestige.