Nelson Mandella, whose biography will be presented below, is considered one of the greatest people in Africa, who set himself a clear goal almost from childhood and achieved it all his life. In the end, he succeeded and did exactly what he wanted, despite the huge number of obstacles in his path.
Young years
Nelson's father had four wives. All together they brought him 13 children, one of whom was Nelson himself. His real name sounds like Holilala, which in translation from the local language means “tearing tree branches”, or simply “prankster”. It was Holilala who was the first in the family who went to school, where, in fact, he received the name Nelson, better known to the general public. At that time there was a similar tradition, when the children of local tribes received European names. As Mandela himself recalled, on the very first day, when all the students came to school and still did not know anything at all, their teacher gave everyone a name. Why Kholilala received such a nickname as Nelson, he never found out.
As soon as the future president was nine years old, he diedhis father, who was the chief of the village. The role of the guardian is assumed by the regent Jongintaba. Nelson Mandella loved to study and devoted quite a lot of time to this particular occupation. As a result, he received a certificate of junior secondary education a year ahead of schedule and continued his studies. In 1939, Holilala entered the only university in the country where it was possible to educate the black population. He never finished his studies, and due to the fact that the regent planned to marry him by force, he ran away from home. For some time he worked in the mine, then he was fired from there, he was able to contact the guardian and even more or less improve relations. After that, Nelson gets a job in a law office. While working part-time, with the help of Jongintab, he receives a Bachelor of Arts degree and continues his studies, which for various reasons were never completed.
Fight
Since 1943, Nelson Mandella has been involved in various non-violent actions that prevent certain government actions. Since 1944, he became a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and took part in the creation of the Youth League, which can be considered a more radical direction of the congress. Since 1948, when it became clear that the new government was not going to do anything against the existence of the apartheid policy, he began to take a more active part in the political life of the country. Already in 1955, the Congress of the People was organized, where Nelson Mandella also took an active part, thanknown to this day. It was then that the Freedom Charter was adopted, which became the main document of the ANC. Interestingly, the future president fought not so much for the rights of the black population as for the equality of whites and blacks in the country, actively opposed both the existing policy of white supremacy and against radical organizations that sought to expel all whites from the country. In 1961, Nelson Mandella became the leader of the armed resistance to the authorities. Various sabotage, partisan actions and much more are being undertaken. It was originally planned that during such actions no one should suffer, but in fact this was not always possible. The resistance did not last long, and the leader himself considered it just a last resort, when all other attempts to change the situation became simply useless. In 1962 he is arrested.
Prison
The lawsuit lasted until 1964. In this situation, Nelson Mandella, what is known to most? Your speeches during this process. He and his arrested associates were found guilty and sentenced to death, but for various reasons the sentence was changed to life imprisonment. The conditions of detention for blacks, especially political ones, were appalling. They worked harder than the rest, but received much less food and water. This is how Nelson Mandella existed for many years, until 1982. The prison where he served his sentence was located on an island called Robben. In 1982, he and the rest of the "old" leadersare transferred to another place of detention in order to (supposedly) not give them the opportunity to communicate with the “younger” generation of activists who disagree with the government. He stayed there until 1988, when he was once again transferred to the last place of his "imprisonment" - the Victor-Werster prison.
Liberation
The last president of South Africa, who was a white man, in 1990 signs a document according to which the ANC becomes an official organization, and all political prisoners are released. Nelson Mandella is released. From 1990 to 1994, he was again the leader of the ANC, actively participating in negotiations aimed at the abolition of apartheid. In 1993, for his achievements in the struggle for the rights of people of any race, Nelson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thanks to numerous efforts aimed at combating the existing politics of the South African government, in the 1994 elections, he becomes the first black president in the history of the country to do more for his country than any of his predecessors did.
President
Nelson Mandella is a president with a capital letter. His activity was so reasonable and effective that it made it possible to significantly improve the life of the population. There are many different elements that are key to the life of the country, behind which stands the first black president. It is impossible to list them all in one article. Here and free medicine for children and pregnant women, and the development of housing and communal services,and a significant increase in South Africa's social spending, and electricity connections, and education and employment reforms. It was he who introduced the practice of free meals for schoolchildren, carried out a reform in the field of medicine, which made medicine more accessible to most of the population, passed a law to facilitate the work and life of miners, and also provided three million citizens with free access to water. Many bills have been adopted that also make life easier for ordinary people and equalize the rights of both the fair-skinned and dark-skinned population of South Africa.
Private life
Nelson was married three times during his long and difficult life. From his first wife he had four children, one of whom died in infancy, and another child died in a car accident, and Mandela was in prison at that moment, and he was not allowed to be at the funeral of his own son. He had two daughters from his second marriage, and no children from his third. In total, at the time of death, there were 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Despite a difficult life full of dangers, a long prison term, armed struggle, and the fact that most of his strength was taken away by the struggle for his own ideals and values, he devoted a lot of time to his family.
Resignation
After his resignation from the presidency, Nelson Mandella (photo below) continued to be active. Called for a more active fight against AIDS, was a member of an organization whose goal was to stopof all armed conflicts in the world, supported Gaddafi as an excellent leader who did a lot for his country, was an honorary member of 50 different universities.
Quotes
He gained fame not only through his activities, but also through his speeches and phrases. Nelson Mandella's quotes are quite famous, especially some of them. He talked about how there is no point in being angry, since it is tantamount to drinking poison and hoping that it will kill your enemies. According to him, the time allotted to a person should be used as rationally and efficiently as possible, and most importantly, remember that any right thing can be started at any moment. When they spoke to him about forgiveness, he declared: "I cannot forget, I can forgive." He spoke about his work for the benefit of the freedom of all people in the vein that this process is endless: "When you climb one mountain, you see many others who are just waiting for you to conquer them." From his point of view, freedom is not a process of permissiveness, but a life that a person lives, respects others, and this is the only way to achieve real freedom. There are many other equally famous phrases and sayings of this great man.
Death and Testament
The famous person died in December 2013 in the presence of relatives, at the age of 95. According to his will, part of his inheritance will go to the family, part will go to the disposal of the ANC, only on the condition that the money will be used to continue to establish peace inthe planet and similar activities. Another part is intended for the closest employees and associates. The rest will go to four educational institutions. From 1984 to 2012, he was the recipient of many different awards from different countries, and many items are dedicated to his name, ranging from landmarks to postage stamps, banknotes and more.
