In a press conference streamed live on various news outlets today, South African President Jacob Zuma announced the passing of famed and heralded anti-Apartheid leader and former South African President Nelson Mandela, a widely respected activist and national icon who spent nearly three decades in prison during his fight for equal rights in his home country.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” Zuma said of Mandela, whom he affectionately referred to as Madiba, an honorary title adopted from his native clan.
After an international campaign led to his release from prison in 1990, Mandela would go on to head the African National Congress, leading negotiations with the incumbent government to end apartheid and establish democratic elections in 1994. Mandela himself would win the ’94 elections and become the first ever democratically-elected President of South Africa, further implementing constitutional changes that would lead South Africa to becoming a thriving democracy.
Mandela, who passed away at his home in Johannesburg, had been in and out of the hospital in recent months, with health scares becoming more and more frequent. He made his last public appearance when South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
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