As a school assignment, I have been asked to do a blog post on a great leader that I admire, and I have chosen Nelson Mandela, the the first black President of South Africa . In this post, I will give you information on Mandela.
Background/ Info
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital(links to info on Transkei below). He belongs to the Thembu dynasty. His father, Mphakanyiswa, was once the ruler of his tribe. After his reign, he served an instrumental role in Jongintaba Dalindyebo's ascension to the throne of the tribe. Jongintaba would later return the favour by informally adopting Mandela upon Mphakanyiswa's death. His given name Rolihlahla means "to pull a branch of a tree", or more colloquially and ironically, "troublemaker". In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the English name "Nelson". He was elected as the first black president of South Africa on 10 May 1994. He has also won over a hundred awards for his efforts throughout 4 decades, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
Education/ Academic Achievements
*At the age of sixteen he attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute.
*Mandela completed his Junior Certificate in two years.
*In 1937 Mandela moved to Healdtown, the Wesleyan college in Fort Beaufort which most Thembu royalty attended. At nineteen, he took an interest in boxing and running at the school.
*After enrolling, Mandela began to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the Fort Hare University.
* At the end of Nelson's first year, he became involved in a Students' Representative Council (SRC) boycott against university policies, and was told to leave Fort Hare and not return unless he accepted election to the SRC. Later, while imprisoned, Mandela studied for a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Programme.
Anti-Apartheid Actions(Info on Apartheid given below)In 1961, Mandela became leader of the African National Congress's (ANC) armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (translated Spear of the Nation, and also abbreviated MK), which he co-founded. He coordinated sabotage campaigns against military and government targets, making plans for a possible guerrilla war if the sabotage failed to end apartheid. Mandela also raised funds for MK abroad and arranged for military training of the group.
In a conversation with fellow ANC member Wolfie Kadesh, Mandela said that he and the ANC "were to do it in such a way that nobody would be hurt, nobody would get killed."
Mandela described the move to use violence as a last resort; years of increasing repression and violence from the state convinced him that many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had not and could not achieve any progress.
Before his arrest, he made this statement: "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
His Arrest
Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island where he remained for the next eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison. On the island, he and others performed hard labour in a lime quarry. Prison conditions were very basic. Prisoners were segregated by race, with black prisoners receiving the fewest rations. Political prisoners were kept separate from ordinary criminals and received fewer privileges. Mandela describes how, as a D-group prisoner (the lowest classification) he was allowed one visitor and one letter every six months. Letters, when they came, were often delayed for long periods and made unreadable by the prison censors.
His Contributions
*Since the age of 20, he has fought against racial discrimination and for peace between the blacks and the whites.
*As President from May 1994 until June 1999, Mandela presided over the transition from minority rule and apartheid, winning international respect for his advocacy of national and international reconciliation.
* Mandela encouraged black South Africans to get behind the previously hated Springboks (the South African national rugby team) as South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After the Springboks won an epic final over New Zealand, Mandela, wearing a Springbok shirt, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, an Afrikaner. This was widely seen as a major step in the reconciliation of white and black South Africans.
*In South Africa's first post-apartheid military operation, Mandela ordered troops into Lesotho in September 1998 to protect the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. This came after a disputed election prompted fierce opposition threatening the unstable government.
*Commentators and critics including AIDS activists such as Edwin Cameron have criticised Mandela for his government's ineffectiveness in stemming the AIDS crisis. Therefore, after his retirement, he started the '46664' campaign to raise AIDS awareness.
*Started the 'Nelson Mandela Foundation'. The Mandela Foundation has helped build over 140 schools. These Mandela Schools have been the focus of a development program, and one of its objectives is to create centers of excellence in learning and teaching within communities.
Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transkei
http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid
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