18 July 1918, Mandela was born. During 1939, he enrolled at Fort Hare (studying English, Anthropology, Politics). In 1941, he met Walter Sisulu in Johannesburg. He passed his end of year exams for his BA at UNISA in 1942. In 1944 , he joined the ANC and co-founded the ANCYL. He married his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase.
1950
He was elected the ANCYL president
1952
He opened his own law firm (at Chancellor House in Jhb)
1956
He was arrested for High Treason
1958
He married Winnie on 14 June a year after he divorced his first wife
1961
On 21 March eh was found not guilty of High Treason
1962
He was arrested in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal – and sentenced to three years
1964
ON 12 June he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island.
1982
On 31 March he was moved to Pollsmoor prison
1985
On 31 January, the then National Party President, PW Botha, offered him conditional
Release which he refused.
1988
He was diagnosed with TB and was hospitalized at Constantiaberg Medi-clinic
Four months later, on 24 December, he was moved to Victor Verster
1989
P.W. Botha met with Mandela at Tuynhys, Cape Town. Mandela asked him to
release all political prisoners.
10 October, he told Sisulu, Kathrada and Mlangeni of their imminent release.
1990
On 2 February, NP president, FW de Klerk announced the
unconditional release of Mandela
On 11 February, Mandela was released from prison
On 2 March the ANC NEC (National Executive Committee) named
Mandela ANC deputy president
On 5 April, Mandela met with De Klerk to discuss ANC government negotiations
From June to July, Mandela undertook a six week visit to countries in
Europe, North America and Africa
On 26 June, he addressed a U.S. Congress in the speech: Peace will not come to our country until apartheid is ended
ON 14 December he delivered the keynote address to the
ANC Consultative Conference:
The oppressed and exploited must lead South Africa out of Apartheid
1991
He met with IFP’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi and agreed to measures to end
violence in KwaZulu Natal
On 22 February, he emphasized tolerance in a speech to the Johannesburg Press Club: Building a political culture that entrenches political tolerance
From 2-6 July the ANC held its first annual conference inside SA in 30 years
. Mandela was elected president of the ANC at this 48th National Conference
in Durban
On 20 December, he addressed the opening session of the Convention for
a Democratic SA (CODESA): Codesa is the fruit of sacrifice and struggle
1992
On 17 March a Whites-only referendum was passed and its main question was:
‘Do you support the continuation of the reform process which the state president [de Klerk] began on 2 February 1990 which is aimed at a new constitution through negotiation?’
A two-thirds majority endorsed continued government negotiations on
the country’s future
On 13 April, Mandela announced his separation from Winnie, his second wife
On 9 July Mandela wrote a letter to FW De Klerk:
For a democratically elected and sovereign constituent assembly and on 15 July
addressed the United Nations Security Council with the theme:
A cold-blooded strategy of state terrorism
On 26 September a memorandum of understanding was signed between
Mandela and de Klerk, breaking the deadlock in negotiations.
This caused the IFP to withdraw from negotiations
1993
In February, in an interview with Mayibuye, Mandela noted: 1993 can be a year of
decisive achievements
On 13 April, Mandela’s address to the nation following the assassination of SACP
leader, Chris Hani on 10 April, probably averted serous and protracted internal strife
At Hani’s funeral on 19 April, Mandela said: Apartheid must not be reformed;
it must be uprooted in its entirety
On 5 May and in a British parliamentary address (following the death of Oliver Tambo from a stroke) Mandela said: We must act together to give birth to a new South Africa
He addressed people on the 17th commemoration of the 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto
The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela and
FW de Klerk “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime,
and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”
Saturday 11 June 2011 07:53
Apartheid must not be reformed; it must be uprooted in its entirety
1994
On 2 May Mandela delivered his first Election Victory Speech in Johannesburg
On 10 May he was sworn in as South Africa’s first democratic president
1995
On 14 February, he officially inaugurated the Constitutional Court
In March, Mandela received a visit from Queen Elizabeth II after SA was
recognised in the Commonwealth
On 18 March he accepted the National Peace Award in Durban
On 8 May he launched the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
On 9 June he delivered the first Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture at the Johannesburg Market Theatre
On 24 June he was publicly presented with a rugby jersey by the SA captain.
SA won the Rugby Union World Cup
1996
Mandela opened the 1996 African Cup of Nations Tournament in Johannesburg
On 8 May, he addressed the Constitutional Assembly, adopting the new
Constitution, and then unveiled the Mural celebrating the new constitution
On 9-12 July he visited the UK and received the freedom of the City of London…
he also received honorary degrees from eight leading universities there, including
Oxford and Cambridge. This was done during a ceremony held at
Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth II received Mandela
On 23 September, he unveiled the Monument of Enoch Sontonga on Heritage Day
On 25 October, having received an Honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch,
he expressed his appreciation and confidence that the gesture was a sign true sign
of reconciliation
On 10 December Mandela signed the new Constitution into law at Sharpeville,
noting that he was honoured and humbled to be able to do so
1997
In March, Princess Diana visited Mandela in Cape Town
His visit to the UK included being received by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham palace. He also met Tony Blair and Prince Charles
1998
On 18 July, he married his third wife, Graca Machel
1999
On 5 February Mandela delivered his last State of the Nation address
In June, Mandela stepped down as president, making way for his successor,
Thabo Mbeki
In July, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew’s ex visited Mandela at his Houghton home
On 18 July, the late Michael Jackson visited Mandela on his birthday.
He had brought with him a personalized birthday cake and spent the day with
Mandela, Graca, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren
In August, he launched the Nelson Mandela Foundation
In November he accepted a mediation role in war-torn Burundi
In December he visited the United States to brief the then president Bill Clinton on
his efforts in the Middle East conflict
2000
In May he lashed out against leaders who profited at the cost of their countries’
children
He issued a statement on building a global partnership for children
In July he pushed the Burundi peace initiative so vigorously that diplomats warned
him key players were left out of the process
In August he successfully placed pressure on Liberian leader Charles Taylor to
release captured journalists
In September he attended the Olympics in Sydney, Australia and received three
honorary doctorates from Australian Universities during his 10-day visit
In October, he was awarded the African of the Century award
In December, at the closing ceremony of the International Aids Conference in
Durban, Mandela reminded society that A tragedy of unprecedented proportions is
unfolding in Africa
2001
In February he launched the Arusha Agreement in Tanzania in a bid to end civil
strife, but this only escalated within two weeks of the Arusha Agreement, and the
UN Security Council expressed its concern
Also in February, via video link, Mandela told an international conference on child
poverty that children must be moved to the centre of the world agenda, adding
30 000 children die needlessly every day worldwide
In July he criticised the denial and secrecy surrounding AIDS
In August he received the first Shaka award for courage from King Goodwill Zwelithini
In November he became the first living person to be made honorary citizen of
Canada. He asked the then prime minister of Canada, Jean-Pierre Chrétien, to help
fund peace in the Congo
2002
In February he cautioned the government not to limit freedom of the press
In June, he publicly mourned the death of discredited SA cricket hero Hansie Cronje
In August Mandela became the real ‘hot property’ at the WSSD (World Summit on
Sustainable Development), creating concern that he would upstage any event
attended by President Mbeki, so he made himself inaccessible
In October he received the International Peace Prize he was awarded by the old
USSR in 1990
In December, he welcomed US talk show host Oprah Winfrey
2003
In February Mandela called then UK prime minister Tony Blair “the foreign minister
of the US”, thus embarrassing him
In May, he met British soccer star David Beckham
He was voted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame as the greatest champion of
all time
In June, he and Muhammad Ali were guests of honour at the Opening of the
Special Olympics
In September he and Her Majesty Queen Noor, became Patrons of the Vth IUCN World Parks
In October Mandela launched a worldwide music-led campaign, 46664, in London to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Africa
In November he attended the first 46664 conference to raise funds for AIDS victims, with Bono, The Edge and Dave Stewart starring at the concert
2004
In February he met South African Oscar award-winning actress, Charlize Theron
In April Mandela lobbied for the support of the Caribbean islands in an effort
to secure the 2010 Soccer World Cup
Also in April he, on an ANC campaign trail, proved to be a major drawing card,
and attracted thousands of people to mass rallies ahead of the General election
on 14 April 2004
In June he announced his retirement from public life for the second time, stating
that he was retiring from his punishing retirement schedule
2005
On 12 July Mandela greed to become a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in recognition for showing unfailing commitment to democracy, equality and learning, as well as
adding an exemplary contribution to international peace and understanding
On 4 October Mandela topped an international BBC poll to find the 11 leaders the
people of the world would like to run a fantasy global government
2006
Mandela agreed to become patron of the African Forum at a function in
Mozambique, where fourteen other former heads of government met with the
intent to contribute to conflict resolution. Due to this commitment, Mandela was
unable to meet the president-elect of Bolivia, Evo Morales
On 1 November Amnesty International bestowed its most prestigious honour –
the Ambassador of Conscience Award 2006 – on Mandela. The award recognised
exceptional individual leadership in the fight to protect and promote universal
human rights.
2007
On 2 January the Oprah leadership academy for girls from poor backgrounds
opened and Mandela delivered an address, congratulating talk show host Oprah
Winfrey on being a benefactor to the disadvantaged around the world. It was
Mandela who had requested Oprah to support efforts in education in South Africa
On 18 July He launched the humanitarian club of “Global Elders”. These include the
likes of Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson and Kofi Annan
On 29 August a statue of Mandela was unveiled in Parliament Square following a
seven year campaign led by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London
2008
On 2 July the White House said the then President George W Bush removed
Mandela and other ANC members from the US terror watch list
On 5 November, he congratulated American President Barack Obama on his
appointment
2009
On 15 February, 90 year Mandela made an appearance at and Eastern Cape
electioneering rally. This sparked concerns about his health
On 9 May, the frail elderly statesman was transported in golf cart and then helped
onto the stage at Pretoria’s Union Buildings as he went to witness President
Jacob Zuma’s inauguration. Thousands of supporters cheered for him
In June the 46664 campaign spearheaded the launch of Mandela Day on behalf of
all the Nelson Mandela organisations – the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation – and called on people around the world to support the creation of an official
Mandela Day, to be held annually on July 18, Mandela’s birthday.
On 7 July the honorable Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the
Republic of Bulgaria to South Africa, Volodya Neykov conferred the
Highest State Award – Order of the Starra Planini – of the Republic of Bulgaria on behalf of His Excellency, Mr. Georgi Parvanov, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria on Mr. Mandela.
2010
On 11 July Mandela and his wife Graca Machel appeared briefly at
Soccer City stadium for the closing ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 11 July 2010. They missed the opening due to the death of Mandela’s great-grandchild
On 15 September he received the Mexican government’s highest award for
foreigners, the Order of the Mexican Eagle. Graca Machel gave the assurance
that “he is fine, he is healthy, but as he himself says, he is old” when
she accepted the award on his behalf in Pretoria
On 13 October, at gathering in Bamako, Mali, the African Editors’ Forum honoured
Mandela (and leaders who had created media-friendly societies during their term
in office) for his commitment to press freedom during his term in office with an
award. The award was accepted by Nelson Mandela Foundation Trustee Professor
Njabulo Ndebele on behalf of Mandela
2011
Notes
Following his release and during his presidency, Mandela visited many countries
in the world, thanking them for their support at the height of apartheid.
He was involved in mediation efforts both in Africa and abroad
(e.g. Middle East and Burundi, to mention but a few).
He not only emphasized on reconciliation, but also promoted peaceful resolutions
to conflict. He also brought attention to issues of HIV/AIDS, poverty and
the importance of aid in Africa. Mandela received numerous honorary doctorates
and awards in recognition of his efforts
Mandela as a leader had achieved what many people believed to be an impossible
task – a united South Africa. As a traditionalist, struggle leader, democrat,
and respected world statesman, it was difficult to equal someone as committed
to causes and people as Mandela. More than anything, as a reconciliatory
statesman, he earned more accolades than any South African current political figure.