Nelson Mandela's Effect on South Africa

1000 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Life and achivement of nelson mandela

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on the U.S Terror Watch List for more than 20 years and then be elected as your country’s president a year after you are removed from this list? This is what Nelson Mandela went through for many years of his life. Although many people have changed the face of government throughout the world, Nelson Mandela had had a huge impact on South Africa’s government system because of his childhood, prison life, and his presidency.
Mandela had a very normal childhood compared to the rest of the kids in his country. Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 to mother Nonquaphi Nosekeni and father Nkosi Mphakanyishwa Gadla Mandela. His father died when he was only 12 years old but that did not stop from continuing his dream of making his own improvement to the freedom struggle of his people. Mandela attended primary school in Qunu where his teacher Miss Midingame gave him the name “Nelson” as a custom of giving all students English names. Nelson completed his Junior Certificate at Clarkbury Boarding Institute and Healdtown, a secondary school, where he performed well on boxing and track as well and academics. Mandela then married Evelyn Ntokomase and had four children; they got a divorce in 1957. He then went on the University of Fort Hare where he began studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree. Unfortunately, Mandela did not complete this degree due to being expelled for protesting. He then enrolled at the University of South Africa where he completed his Bachelor’s degree and went back to Fort Hare in 1943 for graduation. When he returned to the Great Place, the king was furious and threatened to arrange wives for him and his cousin to marry if he did not return to Fort Hare. He ...

... middle of paper ...

... then married his third wife Graca Machel on his 80th birthday in 1998. Mandela stepped down after one term of presidency in 1999 and set up the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in 1995. He also established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. Mandela’s grandson then became the head of the Mvezo Traditional Court in April of 2007. Overall, Nelson was a very inspiring president who always wanted to do the right thing.
Because of his childhood, prison life, and presidency, Nelson Mandela has had a huge impact on South Africa’s government system. Sadly, Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013 from a lung infection. The United Nations declared July 18 “Nelson Mandela International Day.” Even though Mandela was faced with racism and cruelty, he never answered racism with racism and was an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived.

Show More
Related

  • Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography Of Nelson Mandela

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nelson’s autobiography starts at the beginning of his life in the village of Qunu, which is where Mandela recalls the happiest years of his boyhood. It was not until his father’s death that Nelson’s life took a turn in a different direction. Instead of his mother raising him, the regent, Jongintaba, and the rest of the royal family raised Nelson in the

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela Essay

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nelson Mandela married his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko but they both split in 1958. Two years later, the ANC was banned in 1960. In the same year that the ANC was banned, Nelson Mandela created the underground military group called ‘Spear of the Nation’. Two years later, Nelson was arrested for a five-year sentence for protesting but he ran away. Another 2 years later, he was recaptured and sent to life imprisonment, he had to spend 18 years in Robben Island Prison. His prison room number in Robben Island was 466/64. In 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and the ban on the ANC was lifted by Frederik Willem de Klerk (the president of South Africa at that time). The reason for this was because Nelson and de Klerk had secret conversations when Nelson was in prison. Together in 1993, they won the Nobel Peace Prize because they got rid of the apartheid system (a system that separated people by their color in South Africa/showed discrimination and segregation towards the black people). A year later, South Africa had its first election that everyone with any skin color was allowed to vote. The ANC won the election and Nelson became the first black president in South Africa. While Nelson was president, he was really dedicated to completely stop racism. He created laws that prohibited discrimination against minorities, including whites. In 1996, Nelson divorced with his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela: Endurance and Influence in History

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nelson Mandela was and will continue to be one of the most influential people throughout history. The mistreatment he endured, the struggles he encountered, and the racial discrimination he faced did not stop him from accomplishing the goal he set forth for him and his people. Nelson Mandela, Rolihlahla, was the son of a chief of the Madiba clan. After his father's death he was sent to live with Jongintaba Dalindyebo, a high-ranking Thembu regent, who provided him with the best education blacks could receive. After protesting local injustices in his community he fled to Johannesburg to escape an arranged marriage. During his time there he became involved in the movement against racial discrimination , he was later arrested in which in time

    Read More

  • What Was Nelson Mandela

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout his 95 years of living, Nelson Mandela earned the title of many things: global peacemaker, civil rights activist, writer, president, politician, philanthropist, and many more. As an active member of the anti-apartheid movement in 1942, Mandela was known for peaceful and non-violent protests against South Africa's government and their policy of Apartheid, a system of racial segregation. After 20 years of these attempts, realizing non-violence was not working to put an end to apartheid, Mandela moved on to armed struggle. The African National Congress was made illegal and Mandela was put in prison for 27 years for political offenses; sabotage and guerrilla war tactics, after coordinating a workers' strike. 18 of those 27 years in prison

    Read More

  • Psychobiography on Nelson Mandela

    2013 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nelson Mandela was a well-known South African politician, philanthropist, and an anti-apartheid revolutionary, born on eighteenth of July 1918. He served as the South African President from the year 1944 to 1999. He is known as the first South African chief executive, and also the first person to be elected in a free and Democratic election. After he was elected, the government of Nelson Mandela focused on dismantling and destroying the widely spread legacy of apartheid that was reigning in South Africa. He tackled these issues by dealing with institutionalised racism, inequality, and poverty. He also made an effort to foster racial reconciliation (Downing & Jr, 1992). He served as the African National Congress President, as a democratic and an African nationalist, from the year 1991 to 1997. Nelson Mandela was appointed the Secretary General from 1998 to 1999, of the Movement of Non-Alignment. Mandela studied Law when he attended the University of Witwatersrand and Fort Hare University. He got involved in anti-colonial politics at the time he lived in Johannesburg. He joined the ANC and later became a founding and prominent member of the Youth league. Nelson Mandela came to power after the National party of South Africa. He ascended to grea...

    Read More

  • An Outline for a Speech on The Life of Nelson Mandela

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nelson Mandela was born 1918 into a Royal family in a South African village, after the death of his father he was groomed into the role within the tribal leadership. He was the first in his family to receive formal education, he excelled in boxing, track and as well as academics. He attended the elite University of fort Hare, the only western style higher learning institute in South Africa at the time.

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom

    2182 Words  | 5 Pages

    The next several years, Nelson met many new political friends and began his involvement in the ANC. Also during this time, he met Evelyn and they became married. Gradually Nelson's political involvement grew and his family life declined. Nelson and his good friend, Oliver Tambo opened a law firm, which took up most of Nelson's time. Evelyn mothered two of Nelson's children, but the gradually grew apart. Now, Nelson was an influential political individual and bans and jailing began to follow him around. One day, a young woman came into his life by the name of Winnie and they got married. Winnie gave birth to two more of Nelson's children. As time passed, Nelson's spirit for freedom grew more and more each day. Though his life was full of bannings and jailings, he never gave up his fight, but he knew that the south African government was becoming agitated with him and the ANC. The South African government became ...

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela's Life

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mandela escaped north to Johannesburg and then fled to Alexandra, where he met Walter Sisulu. He involved Mandela in politics. Sisulu introduced him to the African National Congress (ANC). Soon after that, Mandela was appointed volunteer-in-chief for a resistance campaign in 1952. Mandela began to quarrel for the black rights as the days went by. He became invol...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Nelson Mandela

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many types of people in the world. Some of them are negative and some are positive. Negative people seem to have an endless impact on the people they influence. Negative people plant their venom in the lives of families, friends, communities, countries, and sometimes, even the world, which can make healing difficult and almost impossible because, in many cases, negativity breeds more negativity. However, all people are not negative people, and many people take time to build up others who are less fortunate than they are but who deserve the same opportunities they have. Nelson Mandela is one of these positive people. Mandela contributed to ending

    Read More

  • One of the Greatest Leaders: Nelson Mandela

    2310 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest ethical and political leaders in recent history. Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to the fight against the racial oppression of the apartheid regime in South Africa. In doing so, he became the first democratically chosen black president of South Africa. Nelson Mandela’s life is a blue print for the development of a leader who fought against discrimination and aimed to build fairness and justice, and by doing so, acquired the ultimate achievement: equality for South Africa.

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela Hero Essay

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    He quoted “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people” (Mandela, n.p.). Nelson Mandela wasted no time in prison; he earned his bachelor of law degree from the University of London Correspondence Program. When he was released in 1990, within a year, he was announced the president of the ANC forming a youth league also known as ANCYL-African National Congress Youth League. Also, as challenging as this was, Mandela tried making elections racially undivided and this was a nonsuccess. Anarchy broke out amongst the southern black Africans because they wanted all the power instead of sharing power with the whites, which is what the whites intended. Understanding Mandela, he wanted a peaceful movement and was elected president on May 10, 1994.

    Read More

  • The Leadership of Nelson Mandela

    2391 Words  | 5 Pages

    This assay will be analysing on one of African president ever recognized as dedicated leader; who dedicated his entire life fighting for freedom of his nation. Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei in a small rural community in the easterner cape of South Africa. On 18july 1918 and named Nelson by one of his teachers, Mandela led the struggle to reinstate the apartheid rule of South Africa against racial discrimination. As well know as a democratic leader he was incarcerated for 27 years. Has been awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993 and 1994 Nelson Mandela been voted as South Africa first black president. (BBC news-Mandela’s life and times2008)

    Read More

  • The Legacy of Nelson Mandela

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    “To deny people their right to human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid (“In Nelson Mandela’s own words”). Nelson Mandela was a moral compass symbolizing the struggle against racial oppression. Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after twenty-seven years to lead his country to justice. For twenty-seven years he sat in a cell because he believed in a country without apartheid, a country with freedom and human rights. He fought for a country where all people were equal, treated with respect and given equal opportunity. Nelson Mandela looms large in the actions of activists and politicians. He inspired music and movies, and swayed the mind of powerful leaders. Making him an influential person who affected American culture.

    Read More

  • Essay On Nelson Mandela

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1993, he became the president of South Africa after a long journey of seeking freedom and equality among his people. Under his power, his country attained democratic government without discrimination between the white and black people. He had never talked about racism during his presidential time and had never responded harshly against any racism action. He had very successful time in leading South Africa until he retired because of his health bad condition. Finally, he died in 2013, but he remained in our heart as strong leader, peaceful person, and free man.

    Read More

  • The Role of Nelson Mandela in the Anti-Apartheid Movement

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nelson Mandela played an important role in the abolition of Apartheid. He helped start and lead some of the riots and protests that led to black rights, and he spent a long time in prison to pay for it. He inspired many people. As he said, quoting Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world… We are all meant to shine (Williamson).” Overall, he played a very important role in abolishing Apartheid in South Africa.

    Read More

More about Nelson Mandela's Effect on South Africa

Open Document