South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist

1. Nelson Mandela • 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013 South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist

2. A Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. After the South African National Party came to power in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign.

3. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961.

4. Inspired by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement in the Cuban Revolution, in 1961 Mandela co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation", abbreviated MK) with Sisulu and the communist Joe Slovo

5. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy (high treason) to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison.

6. President de Klerk released Mandela unconditionally and legalised all formerly banned political parties on 2 February 1990. Mandela left the prison on Feb 11

7. "In a way I had never quite comprehended before, I realized the role I could play in court and the possibilities before me as a defendant. I was the symbol of justice in the court of the oppressor, the representative of the great ideals of freedom, fairness and democracy in a society that dishonoured those virtues. I realized then and there that I could carry on the fight even in the fortress of the enemy."— Mandela, 1994

8. President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election

9. Mandela's inauguration took place in Pretoria on 10 May 1994, televised to a billion viewers globally. • The event was attended by 4000 guests, including world leaders.

10. Mandela was President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999

11. Mandela received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Soviet Order of Lenin and the Bharat Ratna. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father").

12. “We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people."— Opening words of the Freedom Charter

13. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”

14. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

15. “It always seems impossible until its done.”

16. “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

18. “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.”

19. “In my country we go to prison first and then become President.”

20. “It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.”

21. “There is no such thing as part freedom.”

22. “Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.”

25. We must all rememberNelson Mandela, what he stood for, and the example he set.