"Nelson Mandela" Personal Page by mvtouring

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realized. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." -Nelson Mandela, 20 April 1964

Children the thing he missed most while in jail

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

Mandela congratulating Francois Pienaar at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Mandela casting his vote in the first democratic elections in 1994

Mandela as young attorney in his office at Tambo & Mandela, 1952 to 1956.

Mandela and his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Married 1958 to 1996.

His cell on Robben Eiland

In jail on Robben Eiland