Nelson Mandela
- Created by: Steffie
- Created on: 09-10-15 13:50
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- Nelson Mandela
- Background
- Mandela grew up in the company of tribal elders and chiefs, which gave him a rich sense of African self-government and heritage.
- Mandela (1918-2013) was born in a small village in the southeastern region of South Africa called the Transkei
- Deeply influenced by his early education in Methodist church schools.
- ANC
- In 1944 Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC)
- Became one of the ANC's younger and more radical leaders as a member of the ANC's Youth League. He became president of the league in 1951.
- Between 1951 and 1960 younger antiapartheid activists (protesters), including Mandela, were coming to the view that nonviolent demonstrations against apartheid did not work.
- In 1952 Mandela's leadership of ANC protest activities led to a nine-month jail sentence.
- Later, in 1956, he was arrested with other ANC leaders for promoting resistance to South Africa's "pass laws" that prevented blacks from moving freely in the country.
- Mandela was charged with treason in 1961 but the charges against him and others collapsed.
- Mandela appointed honorary leader of All-African National Action Council. and later became head ofUmkhonto weSizwe (the Spear of the Nation), a militant ANC organization which used sabotage.
- In 1944 Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC)
- Key Events and Other
- Mandela was again arrested, this time for leaving South Africa illegally and for inciting strikes -- sentenced to five years in jail
- The following year he was tried with other leaders of Umkhonto weSizwe on a charge of high treason, following a government raid of the group's secret headquarters.
- Mandela was given a life sentence, which he began serving in the maximum security prison on South Africa's Robben Island.
- Twenty-seven years Mandela spent in prison
- Public discussion of Mandela was illegal, and he was allowed few visitors. Increasingly viewed internationally as a martyr.
- Mandela was given a life sentence, which he began serving in the maximum security prison on South Africa's Robben Island.
- The following year he was tried with other leaders of Umkhonto weSizwe on a charge of high treason, following a government raid of the group's secret headquarters.
- In 1988 protest had spread, and international pressures for the end of apartheid were increasing.
- South Africa was isolated as a racist state. It was against this backdrop that F. W. de Klerk, the president of South Africa, finally responded to the calls from around the world to release Mandela.
- On February 11, 1990, Mandela walked out of prison.
- In 1991 he assumed the presidency of the ANC, which had been given legal status again by the government.
- Civil war averted: Both Mandela and deKlerk realized that only a compromise between whites and blacks could prevent civil war in South Africa.
- In late 1991, a multiparty Convention for a Democratic South Africa met to establish a new, democratic government that gave people of all colors rights to determine the country's future.
- 1993 peace prize for negotiations
- In September 1992, the two leaders signed a document that created a freely elected constitutional assembly to draft a new constitution and to act as a transition government.
- On April 27, 1994, the first free elections open to all South African citizens were held. The ANC won over sixty-two percent of the popular vote, and Mandela was elected president
- Mandela was again arrested, this time for leaving South Africa illegally and for inciting strikes -- sentenced to five years in jail
- Presidency
- Mandela's skill at building compromise and his enormous personal authority helped him lead the transition to democracy.
- Lincolnesque: Backed the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission which offered amnesty to those who had committed crimes during the apartheid era.
- Post presidency
- Mandela retired in June 1999, choosing not to challenge Thabo Mbeki, his vice president, in elections.
- Mbeki won the election for the ANC and was inaugurated as president on June 16, 1999.
- Mandela quickly took on the role of statesman after leaving office, acting that year as a mediator in the peace process in Burundi, where a civil war had led to the killing of thousands.[Image 5: Victory! A free Mandela before adoring crowds] 9
- Background
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