NAME _____________________________ rotation _____________ 6F ___
His Excellency
Nelson Mandela
OM AC CC GCStJ QC GColIH RSerafO BR NPk
MRCSI
Mandela and the End of Apartheid in
South Africa
Nelson Mandela
Mandela in 2008
President of South Africa
In office:
10 May 1994 – 14 June 1999
Deputy Thabo Mbeki
Frederik Willem de Klerk
Preceded by Frederik Willem de Klerk
As State President of South Africa
Succeeded by Thabo Mbeki
19th Secretary General of Non-Aligned
Movement In office:
2 September 1998 – 14 June 1999
Preceded by Andrés Pastrana Arango
Succeeded by Thabo Mbeki
Born 18 July 1918 (1918-07-18) (age 92)
Mvezo, Union of South Africa
Birth name Rolihlahla Mandela
Nationality South African
Political party African National Congress
Spouse(s) Evelyn Ntoko Mase (1944–1957)
Winnie Madikizela (1957–1996)
Graça Machel (1998–present)
Residence Houghton Estate, South Africa
Alma mater University of Fort Hare
University of London External System
University of South Africa
University of the Witwatersrand
Religion Methodism[citation needed]
Signature
Website Mandela Foundation
FROM WIKIPEDIA “NELSON MANDELA"
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 18 July 1918) served as President
of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African
president to be elected in a fully representative democratic
election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid
activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of
the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and
convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in
prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of
these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison
on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations
that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994
to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation.
In South Africa, Mandela is often known as uTata Madiba, an
honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.
Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades,
including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
South Africa Under Apartheid
Apartheid (Afrikaans: separateness) was a system of legal racial
segregation enforced by the National Party government of South
Africa between 1948 and 1993,
under which the rights of the
majority 'non-white' inhabitants
of South Africa were curtailed
and minority rule by white
people was maintained. The
government of South Africa also
practiced the same
discriminatory policies while
occupying South West Africa,
known after 1966 as Namibia.
Racial segregation (separation) in South Africa began in colonial
times. However, apartheid as an official policy was introduced
following the general election of 1948. New legislation classified
inhabitants into racial groups ("black", "white", "coloured", and
"Indian"), and residential areas were segregated (separated),
NAME _____________________________ rotation _____________ 6F ___
sometimes by means of forced removals. From 1958, black
people were deprived of their citizenship, legally becoming
citizens of one of ten tribally based self-governing homelands
called bantustans, four of which became nominally independent
states. The government segregated (separated) education, medical
care, and other public services, and provided black people with
services inferior to those of white people.
Apartheid sparked significant internal resistance and violence as
well as a long trade embargo (trade ban) against South Africa.
Since the 1980s, a series of popular uprisings and protests were
met with the banning of opposition and imprisoning of antiapartheid leaders. As unrest spread and became more violent,
state organizations responded with increasing repression and
state-sponsored violence.
Reforms to apartheid in the 1980s failed to quell the mounting opposition, and in 1990 President
Frederik Willem de Klerk began negotiations to end apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic
elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela. The
vestiges of apartheid still shape South African politics and society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_under_apartheid
Women under Apartheid
Colonialism and apartheid had a major impact on women since they suffered both racial and gender
discrimination. Oppression against African women was different from discrimination against men. They
had very few or no legal rights, no access to education and no right to own property. Jobs were often
hard to find but many African women worked as agricultural or domestic workers though wages were
extremely low, if existent. Children suffered from diseases caused by malnutrition and sanitary
problems, and mortality rates were therefore high. The controlled movement of African workers within
the country through the Natives Urban Areas Act of 1923 and the pass-laws, separated family
members from one another as men usually worked in urban centers, while women were forced to stay
in rural areas. Marriage law and births were also controlled by the government and the pro-apartheid
Dutch Reformed Church, who tried to restrict African birth rates.
Ending Apartheid
Throughout Mandela's imprisonment, local and international pressure mounted on the South African
government to release him, under the resounding slogan Free Nelson Mandela! In 1989, South Africa
reached a crossroads when Botha suffered a stroke and was replaced as president by Frederik Willem
de Klerk. De Klerk announced Mandela's release in February 1990.
Mandela was visited several times by delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross, while
at Robben Island and later at Pollsmoor prison. Mandela had this to say about the visits: "to me
NAME _____________________________ rotation _____________ 6F ___
personally, and those who shared the experience of being political prisoners, the Red Cross was a
beacon of humanity within the dark inhumane world of political imprisonment."
Release
On 2 February 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk reversed the ban on the ANC and other antiapartheid organisations, and announced that Mandela would shortly be released from prison.
Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl on 11 February 1990. The event was
broadcast live all over the world.
On the day of his release, Mandela made a speech to the nation. He declared his commitment to
peace and reconciliation with the country's white minority, but made it clear that the ANC's armed
struggle was not yet over when he said "our resort to the armed struggle in 1960 with the formation of
the military wing of the ANC (Umkhonto we Sizwe) was a purely defensive action against the violence
of apartheid. The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option
but to continue. We express the hope that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement would be
created soon, so that there may no longer be the need for the armed struggle."
He also said his main focus was to bring peace to the black majority and give them the right to vote in
both national and local elections.
Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa
Following his release from prison, Mandela returned to the leadership of the ANC and, between 1990
and 1994, led the party in the multi-party negotiations that led to the country's first multi-racial
elections.[71]
In 1991, the ANC held its first national conference in South Africa after its unbanning, electing Mandela
as President of the organisation. His old friend and colleague Oliver Tambo, who had led the
organisation in exile during Mandela's imprisonment, became National Chairperson.
Mandela's leadership through the negotiations, as well as his relationship with President F.W. de Klerk,
was recognised when they were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. However, the
relationship was sometimes strained, particularly so in a sharp exchange in 1991 when he furiously
referred to De Klerk as the head of "an illegitimate, discredited, minority regime". The talks broke
down following the Boipatong massacre in June 1992 when Mandela took the ANC out of the
negotiations, accusing De Klerk's government of complicity in the killings. However, talks resumed
following the Bisho massacre in September 1992, when the spectre of violent confrontation made it
clear that negotiations were the only way forward.
Following the assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani in April 1993, there were renewed fears that the
country would erupt in violence. Mandela addressed the nation appealing for calm, in a speech
regarded as 'presidential' even though he was not yet president of the country at that time. Mandela
said "tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of
my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed so foul
that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner origin, risked
her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin. The cold-blooded murder of Chris Hani
NAME _____________________________ rotation _____________ 6F ___
has sent shock waves throughout the country and the world. ...Now is the time for all South
Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave
his life for – the freedom of all of us”. While some riots did follow the assassination, the negotiators
were galvanised into action, and soon agreed that democratic elections should take place on 27 April
1994, just over a year after Hani's assassination.
Presidency of South Africa
South Africa's first multi-racial elections in which full enfranchisement (No eligible adult was exclude from
voting) was granted were held on 27 April 1994. The ANC won 62% of the votes in the election, and
Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was inaugurated on 10 May 1994 as the country's first black President,
with the National Party's de Klerk as his first deputy and Thabo Mbeki as the second in the Government
of National Unity. 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. (This is the theme of the 2009 film Invictus.) After the Springboks won an epic final over
New Zealand, Mandela presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, an Afrikaner, wearing a
Springbok shirt with Pienaar's own number 6 on the back. This was widely seen as a major step in the
reconciliation of white and black South Africans.
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. It borders the
countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland, and entirely surrounds Lesotho.
South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, the largest Indian population
outside of Asia, as well as the largest Coloured (of mixed European, Asian and African descent) community in
Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between
the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. The
National Party began introducing the policy of apartheid after winning the general election of 1948; however, it
was the same party under the leadership of F.W. de Klerk who started to dismantle it in 1990 after a long
struggle by the black majority, as well as many white, coloured and Indian South Africans.
The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, and regular free and fair elections have
been held since 1994, making it a regional power and among the most stable and liberal democracies in Africa.
The economy of South Africa is the largest and most well-developed of the entire African continent, with
modern infrastructure common throughout the country.
“ If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that
lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and
Forgiveness. ”
Nelson Mandela