Whatson nelson9/10/2023 ![]() Because Mandela was the king's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan, a so-called "Left-Hand House", the descendants of his cadet branch of the royal family were morganatic, ineligible to inherit the throne but recognised as hereditary royal councillors. One of Ngubengcuka's sons, named Mandela, was Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. His patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was ruler of the Thembu Kingdom in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's modern Eastern Cape province. Given the forename Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term colloquially meaning "troublemaker", in later years he became known by his clan name, Madiba. Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then part of South Africa's Cape Province. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Thembu clan name, Madiba, and described as the " Father of the Nation". ![]() Globally regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize. Although critics on the right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the far left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid's supporters, he gained international acclaim for his activism. Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Mandela became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation. He declined a second presidential term and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Internationally, Mandela acted as mediator in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as secretary-general of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. Economically, his administration retained its predecessor's liberal framework despite his own socialist beliefs, also introducing measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty and expand healthcare services. Leading a broad coalition government which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following the Rivonia Trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant uMkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 and led a sabotage campaign against the government. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial. He was appointed president of the ANC's Transvaal branch, rising to prominence for his involvement in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.Ī Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, South Africa. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. ![]() Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( / m æ n ˈ d ɛ l ə/ Xhosa: 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
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