Mandela’s release on February 11, 1990, was met with worldwide celebrations, symbolizing hope and the beginning of the end for apartheid in South Africa.

In 1944, Mandela co-founded the ANC Youth League, which played a crucial role in revitalizing the African National Congress and promoting youth involvement in the struggle against apartheid.

Long Walk to Freedom is Mandela’s autobiography, detailing his early life, education, 27 years in prison, and his role in ending apartheid and establishing democracy in South Africa.

Mandela began his higher education at the University of Fort Hare, an important institution for black South Africans, before transferring to the University of Witwatersrand.

Mandela was arrested in 1962 for inciting workers’ strikes and leaving the country illegally. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment during the Rivonia Trial in 1964.

Initially advocating for nonviolent protest, Mandela later co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, in response to the increasing repression by the apartheid regime.

Mandela was imprisoned for a total of 27 years, from 1962 until his release in 1990, becoming a global symbol of resistance to apartheid.

In 1993, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Frederik Willem de Klerk for their efforts to peacefully end apartheid and lay the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.

In 1994, Mandela became South Africa’s first black president after the country’s first multiracial elections, marking the official end of apartheid.

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.