Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born on 18th July 1918 in South Africa. He had thirteen siblings by the same father, but different mothers. His father died when he was 9 and he was the first member of his family who was sent to school. In 1941 he was expelled from university because he led a group of students on a political strike.

Mandela was sent to prison for life in 1962 for protesting against poverty, inequality and racism against black people in South Africa during the apartheid. The apartheid was when people were divided by their race and forced to live separate lives. Black people could not do the same things as white people, such as going to certain places or voting. Mandela stayed in prison for 26 years of his life until 1990, when there was greater political freedom in South Africa and he was set free. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and in 1994 he was elected as the first black South African present.

As president, Mandela received a lot of money, but he still lived a simple life and donated lots of money to charity, especially his own charity, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, which he set up in 1995. He retired in 1999 and had problems being active since then due to illness. In 2004 he retired from public life, refusing invitations for public events and interviews. In March 2013 Mandela went to hospital because of a lung infection, but recovered and left hospital in September. On 5th December Mandela passed away, but he will always be remembered as a man who encouraged people to live more loving lives and who took a stand against injustice.