Nelson Mandela: Most Inspiring Moments

by meghna · December 5, 2013

Nelson Mandela, former South African President and Anti-Apartheid Hero, passes away at 95 years of age. Mr. Mandela was an epitome of humanity, a believer of oneness, and who changed the world with his spirit. We owe it all the Mr. Mandela for building a bond of humanity. Mr. Nelson Mandela spent over 27 years in prison during the reign of racist white government and apartheid, and was freed in the year 1990 and became the first black president of South Africa in 1994.

Nelson Mandela

The present South African President Mr. Jacob Zuma confirmed the death of Nelson Mandela and said that South Africa lost the greatest son.

Speech By Jacon Zuma on Nelson Mandela

My Fellow South Africans,
Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation has departed.
He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.
He is now resting. He is now at peace.
Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.
Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.
His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.
His humility, his compassion, and his humanity earned him their love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.
They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free.
Our thoughts are with his wife Mrs Graca Machel, his former wife Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with his children, his grand-children, his great grand-children and the entire family.
Our thoughts are with his friends, comrades and colleagues who fought alongside Madiba over the course of a lifetime of struggle.
Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.
Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Madiba as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause.
This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.
Our nation has lost its greatest son.
Yet, what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.
And in him we saw so much of ourselves.
Fellow South Africans,
Nelson Mandela brought us together, and it is together that we will bid him farewell.
Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a State Funeral.
I have ordered that all flags of the Republic of South Africa be lowered to half-mast from tomorrow, 6 December, and to remain at half-mast until after the funeral.
As we gather to pay our last respects, let us conduct ourselves with the dignity and respect that Madiba personified.
Let us be mindful of his wishes and the wishes of his family.
As we gather, wherever we are in the country and wherever we are in the world, let us recall the values for which Madiba fought.
Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another.
Let us commit ourselves to strive together – sparing neither strength nor courage – to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.
This is indeed the moment of our deepest sorrow.
Yet it must also be the moment of our greatest determination.
A determination to live as Madiba has lived, to strive as Madiba has strived and to not rest until we have realised his vision of a truly united South Africa, a peaceful and prosperous Africa, and a better world.
We will always love you Madiba!
May your soul rest in peace.
God Bless Africa.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.

Nelson Mandela in Pictures

Young Nelson Mandela in Boxing Pose in 1950. Image by Keystone-Hulton Archive-Getty Images

ANC supporters give the thumb up to Prison Van of Nelson Mandela. Image by OFF/AFP/Getty Images

Mandela and his wife Winnie in 1957. Image by-ALF Khumalo-Getty Images

Mandela Sentenced to Life Imprisonment. Image by-OFF-AFP_Getty Images

Nelson Mandela Meets Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat in October 1988. Image by Palestine Authorities via Getty Images

African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie raise fists upon his release from Victor Verster prison on February 11, 1990. Image by Alexander Joe-AFP-Getty Images

Mandela Reunited with Family Upon Release from Prison. Image by Walter Dhladhla-AFP-Getty Images

Nelson Mandela at the UN. Image by Don Emmert-ALF-Getty Images

Nelson Mandela with former US President George Bush at the White House on June 25, 1990. Image by Kevin Larkin-ALF-Getty Images

President Nelson Mandela casts his historic vote during South Africa’s first democratic and all-race general elections in April, 1994. Image by Walter Dhladhla-ALF-Getty Images

President Mandela take the oath during his inauguration in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 10, 1994. Walter Dhladhla-AFP-Getty Images

Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu Celebrate the Right to Host the World Cup Finals. Image by Franck Fife-AFP-Getty Images

Nelson Mandela with South African Rugby Union coach Jake White and captain John Smit South Africa defeated former champions England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final. Image by Lefty Shivambu-Gallo Images-Getty Images.

Bill Clinton poses with Nelson Mandela on the eve of his 94th birthday at his residence in Qunu, South Africa, July 17, 2012. Image by Barbara Kinney-Clinton Foundation via Getty Images