Today in History: In the small village of Mvezo, Nelson Mandela is born
He was released from prison in 1990, and became the elected president of South Africa in 1994. At the end of his first term in office, he voluntarily stepped down.
On 18 July 1918, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in the former Transkei in the small village of Mvezo, near in the district of Qunu, Umtata.
While he was a student at Fort Hare University, Mandela met Oliver Tambo who became his life-long friend, and involved himself in politics.
In 2009, the United Nations made the decision to declare 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day, to be celebrated annually.
On 12 June 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island. He was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison and then Victor Verster Prison before he was released in 1990.
He was released and later elected president of South Africa in 1994. At the end of his first term in office, he voluntarily stepped down.
At the Mafikeng Congress in 1997, Mandela resigned as the president of the African National Congress (ANC).
In June 2004, Mandela called a press conference to announce his retirement from active politics and public life. However, he continued to engage in many social programmes and community development initiatives through the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
He became the driving force behind the fight against HIV/AIDS, using his Robben Island prison number, 46664, to host music concerts throughout the world.
In 2005, Mandela announced that his son, Makgatho Mandela, had died of AIDS. Makgatho was the son of his first wife
On 5 December 2013, Nelson Mandela, the first President of South Africa to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, died at the age of 95 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection.
Information sourced from: www.sahistory.org.za
