nelson mandela death cnn 2013 bbc

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years in prison for anti-apartheid activities and led his continent into a new era, has died at age 95.

South African President Jacob Zuma confirmed the news:

"He is now resting. He is now at peace," Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father."

Born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in Transkei, South Africa, the civil rights activist would become the linchpin in South Africans' move to end the country's notorious apartheid regime. The impact of his efforts -- to reconcile generosity with pragmatism and to find the common ground between humanity’s higher values and his own aspiration to power, as journalist John Carlin once described them -- would ultimately reach well beyond South Africa’s borders, and earn him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Prior to doing so, however, Mandela earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare, during which time he was elected onto the Student's Representative Council and suspended from college for joining in a protest boycott.

Mandela was qualified in law in 1942, an accomplishment that would ultimately help him make the kind of contribution to the freedom struggle of his people that he'd reportedly dreamed about since hearing stories of valor by his forebears during the wars of resistance in defense of their land.

That law degree allowed Mandela to practice law and in August 1952 he and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.

But by Dec. 5, 1955, he would be on the other side of the law following a country-wide sweep by police that would put him and 155 other activists on trial for treason. The case, known as the 1956 Treason Trial, dragged on until the last 28 accused, including Mandela, were acquitted on March 29, 1961.

During the trial, on June 14, 1958, Nelson Mandela married Winnie Madikizela, a social worker. They had two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa. The couple divorced in 1996.

Rising through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC), initially by way of the organization’s youth wing, which he helped establish in 1944, Mandela was ultimately asked to lead the armed struggle and help form Umkhonto weSizwe ("Spear of the Nation").

On Jan. 11, 1962, using the adopted name David Motsamayi, Mandela left South Africa secretly. He traveled the continent and abroad to gain support for the armed struggle. Before returning to South Africa in July 1962, Mandela also received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia.

His training would hardly be put to use, however.

In 1964, alongside eight members of the ANC and its armed wing, Mandela stood trial for plotting to overthrow the government by way of violent acts. The following year he was sentenced to life in prison, a term he served until Feb. 11, 1990.

The would-be South African president spent 18 of his 27 prison years on Robben Island confined to a small cell with the floor for a bed and a bucket for a toilet. During his imprisonment, Mandela was forced to do hard labor in a quarry and was allowed one visitor a year for 30 minutes.

Jack Swart, who served as Mandela's chef when he was moved to a private house inside the Victor Verster prison compound in 1988, recalled encounters with Mandela on Robben Island, in an interview for PBS Frontline's "The Long Walk Of Nelson Mandela," documentary:

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