Nelson Mandela Becomes President

Setting the scene

Apartheid, South Africa's system of racial segregation, was formalized in 1948, denying Black South Africans voting rights, land ownership, and freedom of movement. The African National Congress (ANC), founded in 1912, initially pursued nonviolent protest. Nelson Mandela, a lawyer born in 1918, joined the ANC in 1944 and co-founded its Youth League. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, where police killed 69 peaceful protesters, Mandela helped launch the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe.

What happened

Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for sabotage. He spent 18 years on Robben Island, breaking rocks in a lime quarry that damaged his eyes, then was moved to Pollsmoor and Victor Verster prisons. While imprisoned, he became a global symbol of resistance, with 'Free Mandela' campaigns worldwide. F.W. de Klerk, elected South African president in 1989, recognized apartheid was unsustainable amid sanctions and unrest. He released Mandela on February 11, 1990, after 27 years in prison.

Why it still matters

Mandela and de Klerk negotiated a peaceful transition to democracy, despite fears of civil war. In South Africa's first fully democratic election on April 27, 1994, the ANC won 62% and Mandela became president on May 10, 1994, at age 75. He established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address apartheid crimes without revenge, and served one term, stepping down in 1999. Mandela's presidency proved that a deeply divided nation could transition from white minority rule to democracy without mass bloodshed, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and status as a global moral icon.

Background

The election marked South Africa's first fully multiracial national vote.