Nelson Mandela – 20 Things you don’t know about the iconic figure

1. Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918

2. Nelson Mandela was the South African President from 1994 to 1999

3. Nelson Mandela was  the first black South African to hold the office in South Africa

4. Nelson Mandela served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997

5. Nelson Mandela was a Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family

6. Nelson Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law

7. Nelson Mandela co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets.

8. Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison

9. An international campaign was lobbied for Nelson Mandela ‘s release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife.

10. Nelson Mandela acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho.

11. Nelson Mandela declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki.

12. Nelson Mandelawas held in deep respect within South Africa, where he was often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata (“Father”)

13. Nelson Mandelawas given the name  Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term colloquially meaning “troublemaker

14. Nelson Mandela was introduced to the realtor and ANC activist Walter Sisulu, who secured him a job as an articled clerk at law firm Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman

15. Nelson Mandela was married three times, fathered six children, had 17 grandchildren

16. Nelson Mandela remarried on his 80th birthday in 1998, to his third wife, Graça Machel , widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president

17. Nelson Mandela was the first living person to be made an honorary Canadian citizen

18. In 1992 Nelson Mandela was awarded the Atatürk Peace Award by Turkey. He refused the award, citing human rights violations committed by Turkey at the time

19. In 1993, Nelson Mandela received the joint Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk.

20. Nelson Mandela died following a long illness on 5 December 2013 at his home in Johannesburg