Nelson Mandela. One of the greatest activists for human rights the world has ever known.

Nelson Mandela embodied the uncompromising fight against South African apartheid as the country’s first black President after enduring 27 years behind bars. Sentenced to draconian prison labor for nonviolent activism alongside fellow giants of liberation like Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, Mandela became a global icon of principled resistance. Emerging from Robin Island still unbroken, he led negotiations to dismantle apartheid before transforming election victory into radical reconciliation. As father of the Rainbow Nation, Mandela guided the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s revolutionary model of accountability over retribution toward those who dehumanized African peoples for generations. After peacefully ceding power, this teacher of emancipation and forgiveness continued campaigning to end poverty and injustice worldwide as a cherished elder of boundless wisdom. Nelson Mandela’s unshakable moral authority and unifying vision for justice leaves an indelible legacy of change through unwavering conviction allied to earned wisdom.