Nelson Mandela was born July 18, 1918 and died December 5, 2013. He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

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     Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for his work against apartheid (segregation). In 1962, he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Tri al.Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990.  Apartheid was abolished and multiracial elections were established in 1994.

 

     Nelson Mandela gained international acclaim for his activism, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Lenin Peace Prize. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"), and described as the "Father of the Nation".

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    He is an upstander because he was willing to spend 27 years in prison to end apartheid and make the lives of thousands of Black people better.