Nelson Mandela was a Black Nationalist leader and an activist for the rights of black people in South Africa.

He was born in 1918. Later he became a lawyer. Then he joined the African National Congress in 1943. The ANC was created in 1912 to oppose racial oppression. However it was considered an illegal organization between 1960 and 1990.

Mandela was arrested by the police in 1964. He was first sentenced to five years in jail, but he was also accused of sabotage and treason. As a consequence, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

He was eventually released from prison in 1990 thanks to President de Klerk.

Three years later Mandela and de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because they had abolished Apartheid.

Finally Mandela was elected president in 1994 in the first multi-racial democratic elections in South Africa’s history. He died in 2013 at 95.