Whatever position I occupied, it was the result of colleagues - of my comrades in the movement - who had decided in their wisdom to use me for the purpose of focusing the attention of the country and the international community on me.
Descriptionformer President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist
AliasesNelson Rolihlahla Mandela; Mandela; Madiba
BornJuly 18, 1918
DiedDecember 5, 2013
CountrySouth Africa
ProfessionPolitician; Autobiographer
AwardsJawaharlal Nehru Award For International Understanding; Nobel Peace Prize; Honorary Companion Of The Order Of Australia; Grandmaster Of The Order Of Good Hope; Platinum Order Of Mapungubwe; Gold Olympic Order; Order Of Lenin; Princess Of Asturias Award For International Cooperation; Presidential Medal Of Freedom; Order Of The Aztec Eagle; Order Of The Elephant; Order Of The Gold Lion Of The House Of Nassau; Grand Cross Of The National Order Of Mali; Knight Grand Cross Of The Order Of St. Olav?; Royal Order Of The Seraphim; Order Of Prince Yaroslav The Wise; Order Of Merit; Venerable Order Of Saint John; Honorary Canadian Citizenship; Lenin Peace Prize; Sakharov Prize; Honorary Companion Of The Order Of Canada; Order Of Isabella The Catholic; Order Of Augusto César Sandino; Mo Ibrahim Prize For Achievement In African Leadership; Bruno Kreisky Award; Companion Of The Order Of Canada; Order Of St. Olav; United Nations Prize In The Field Of Human Rights; Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize; Order Of Australia; Four Freedoms Award - Freedom Medal; Philadelphia Liberty Medal; Bharat Ratna; Al-Gaddafi International Prize For Human Rights; Giuseppe Motta Medal; Arthur Ashe Courage Award; Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize; Ahimsa Award; Delta Prize For Global Understanding