President Nelson Mandela died at 9pm, local time, this evening at his home in Johannesburg after a long period of illness.
Nelson Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape in 1918. While a law student in 1943 he joined the African National Congress to campaign against apartheid. In 1956 he was charged with high treason, but charges were dropped following a four year trial. In 1962 he was arrested, and convicted of incitement and leaving the country without a passport and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1964 he was charged with sabotage and sentenced to life in prison where he remained for 27 years.
Following an international campaign to free him he was released from prison in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
In a statement on South African national TV announcing the death, South African President, Jason Zuma said: “Nelson Mandela had passed away peacefully in the company of his family.” He added: “Mr Mandela had departed and was at peace”.
From Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron, said: “Nelson Mandela was not just a hero of our time he was a hero of all time.”
“A great light has gone out in the world. I believe that his inspiration for the future will be every bit as powerful as the extraordinary things he achieved in his remarkable life.”
In a speech to the American people, President Obama said that the first political act he personally engaged in as student was to join the anti apartheid movement in the USA. He added: “Today he has gone home. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.”
Paul Ward, Acting Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Nelson Mandela’s inspirational leadership has been as important in the fight against HIV as anti-HIV treatments. Whenever he addressed a World AIDS Conference, no one could fail to be moved to action. The ideals he stood for – freedom, compassion, and the universal human right to love, life and happiness – struck a chord at a time when people with HIV, myself included, were facing unacceptable levels of prejudice and discrimination. Nelson Mandela was one of the few world leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder with people with HIV, and the legacy of that will continue to be felt not only in South Africa, but in countries and communities worldwide.”
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