
A South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader who spent 27 years in prison before becoming the country's first Black president.
Một nhà cách mạng chống chế độ apartheid và lãnh đạo chính trị người Nam Phi, người đã trải qua 27 năm tù trước khi trở thành tổng thống da đen đầu tiên của đất nước.
This biography of Nelson Mandela helps you learn English through real historical stories. Explore Nelson Mandela's impact on the world.
Born Rolihlahla Mandela in 1918 in the tiny village of Mvezo, South Africa, he was later given the English name "Nelson" by a school teacher. Growing up in a deeply racially divided country, he studied law and joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944. Mandela initially committed to nonviolent protests against the oppressive system of "apartheid"—a policy of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white minority government against the Black majority.
As the government's brutal crackdowns intensified, most notably the Sharpeville massacre, Mandela co-founded the militant group Umkhonto we Sizwe, realizing that peaceful protests alone were no longer effective. His armed resistance led to his arrest in 1962. During the infamous Rivonia Trial, he famously declared his willingness to die for the ideal of a democratic and free society. He was sentenced to life in prison, spending the next 27 years incarcerated, mostly on the notorious Robben Island. Despite his imprisonment, he became the most significant global symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle.
Following mounting international pressure and internal unrest, President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela in 1990. Instead of seeking vengeance, Mandela remarkably led peaceful negotiations to dismantle apartheid, earning both men the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994, in South Africa's first fully representative democratic election, Mandela was elected as the nation's first Black president. He focused on reconciliation, establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal the country's deep racial wounds. Passing away in 2013, Mandela left an enduring legacy of forgiveness, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit.