Nelson Mandela

Biography Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela was born in Mvezo near Umtata on 18th July 1918 his father Henry Mgdala Mandela was a chief of the Thembus his family was quite wealthy  Mandela had a happy childhood at the age of nine he lost his father he was given his British name “Nelson“ at a Methodist school

1939: Mandela studied at “Fort Hare College“, where he met Oliver Tambo  there he was first confronted with the injustice of the supremacy¹ of the whites after a students‘ strike Mandela and Tambo were expelled he met Walter Sisulu who arranged a place at “Witwatersrand university“ where he finished his law studies

Political career as a student Mandela got involved in the political opposition which struggled for equal rights for the black majority 1944: he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and two years later he founded the Youth League of the ANC (ANCYL) with Tambo and Sisulu after the National Party had won the election the ANC was forced to fight harder against Apartheid

Mandela demanded: → the preservation of full citizenship for everyone → direct representation² of all South-Africans in Parliament → the right of trade unions, education and culture for everyone → compulsory school attendance for everybody 1952: Mandela, who had become the president of the ANC and ANCYL, travelled through the country to call upon the population to protest because of this Defiance Campaign he received a nine months suspended sentence with probation 5

1956: Mandela and others were accused of high treason  1961: the defendants were set free 1960: after the Sharpeville massacre the ANC was forbidden  his attitude changed, he accepted that violence was necessary 1961: Mandela founded the armed wing of the ANC, the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the nation) because of forbidden journeys abroad he was sentenced to five years imprisonment police found documents of the ANC which incriminated Mandela and other members  they were condemned³ to lifelong imprisonment

Time in prison He spent 18 years of his prison time on Robben Island → lived in a 6x6- cell → black prisoners weren‘t considered to be human beings they developed the so-called “Mandela University“ where they passed on the political views and the history of the ANC  1982: they were sent to Pollsmore Prison 1985: Mandela refused a possibility to get free because he would have to stop fighting violently

many people demonstrated for Mandela‘s release¹ → also many important politicians visited him 1988: he was moved to a prison near Paarl, where he didn‘t feel like a prisoner any more Frederik Willem de Klerk became leader of the National Party and president of south Africa → he abolished the ban on the ANC after the pressure of the ANC and foreign organisations and with the help of de Klerk Mandela was released in 1990

Peace work : after his release he started to negotiate¹ with all sections of the population → Mandela and de Klerk received the Noble Peace Prize 1994: Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa he fought for better relationships between the black and the white population he developed a new constitution² 1999: Mbeki, who was also his successor³ in the ANC, replaced him as president 2000: he worked as a mediator in Burundi and helped to develop a peace treaty 4