Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of South Africa, was a key figure in the fight against apartheid. He was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa, to Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, a counselor to the royal house of the Thembu tribe, and Nosekeni Fanny Mandela.

Early Life and Education

Mandela was given the name Nelson by a school teacher and was sometimes called Madiba, his traditional clan name. He attended the University of South Africa, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942.

Mandela was a key figure in the African National Congress (ANC) and helped found the ANC Youth League in 1944. He became president of the ANC Youth League in 1951 and opened the first black law partnership in South Africa with friend Oliver Tambo in 1952.

Fight Against Apartheid

Mandela led the newly launched ANC Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws, a program of nonviolent mass resistance, in 1952. He was arrested and charged with treason in 1956, but was acquitted in 1961. Mandela began organizing the armed struggle against apartheid, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nations), in 1961.

Mandela was arrested again in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in 1964. He was transferred from Robben Island to Pollsmoor Prison in 1982 and then to Victor Verster Prison in 1988. Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990.

Presidency and Later Life

Mandela was elected president of the ANC in 1991 and became the first black president of a democratic South Africa in 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, along with then-President Frederik Willem de Klerk, for their efforts to dismantle apartheid.

Mandela left office in 1999 and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He passed away on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.