Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first South African President who was elected in a completely democratic election. He was the elected leader of the youth wing of the ANC (African National Congress) liberation movement, and in 1993 he won the Nobel Prize. He was sentenced to prison for twenty seven years because he encouraged black South Africans to go on strike and for leaving South Africa illegally.We celebrate this man's life because he battled South African apartheid and planned to overthrow the government by non-violent protests.