Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a social rights activist, politician and philanthropist who became South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999. After becoming involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies.

Timeline Nelson Mandela

18 July 1918: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is born

1925: Enters primary school

1937: Aged 18, starts college

1939: Enters university

1940: Expelled from Hare University for activism

1944: Co-founds ANC Youth League, marries Evelyn Ntoko Mase

1948: Elected national secretary of ANC Youth League, later to president

1952: Campaign of Civil disobedience and opens South Africa’s first black law practice with Oliver Tambo

1956: One of 150 activists charged with high treason

1961: Goes underground, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) is formed

1964: Sentenced to life imprisonment, sent to maximum-security jail of Robben Island

1990: Released

1993: Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

1994: Elected president after the ANC wins South Africa’s first multi-racial elections

1998: Marries Graça Machel

1999: Steps down after one term as president

2004: Withdraws from public life

5 December 2013: Dies aged 95

What did Nelson Mandela do for South Africa?

When Nelson Mandela was a young man, white and black people in South Africa lived separate lives under a system called apartheid. White people, who were a small part of the population, were in charge of the country. It was illegal for black people to use the same schools, hospitals and even beaches as white people. Conditions in whites-only schools and hospitals were much better.
But Nelson Mandela believed that everybody should be treated equally. Mandela joined a political party called the African National Congress (ANC) and later co-founded the ANC Youth League, leading protests against apartheid. Mandela had spent 27 years in jail and was greeted as a hero on his release. He is famous for promoting a message of forgiveness and equality. Apartheid was abolished in 1991, and three years later, South Africa held its first elections in which black people, as well as white, were allowed to vote. Nelson Mandela was elected president and set about trying to bring people of different races together. In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – the highest honour of its kind – for his work.

he will be remembered around the world for his message of peace and unity.