Nelson Mandela

1918-2013

Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa in 1918.

The country ran an apartheid where black people had to live apart from white people.

Most black people were treated unfairly. They had no jobs and were very poor.

He was put in prison in 1964 because he protested against apartheid.

This is Robben Island Prison where he had to do hard labour and could only see one visitor

every six months.

Mandela still called on all South Africans to work together to end apartheid and was

set free 27 years later.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping black people and became president of South

Africa in 1994.

After he retired he then spent many years travelling the world to promote peace and

equality.

Facts about Nelson Mandela

• Mandela has a species of spider named after him.

• A statue of Nelson Mandela stands in Parliament Square, London.

• Mandela's bright coloured shirts were called 'Madiba' shirts, because Madiba was Mandela's nickname.

1918-2013