Nelson Mandela statue (Sandton, South Africa) - Civil Rights Memorials on Waymarking.com

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was an anti-apartheid activist and revolutionary. After serving 27 years in jail, he became South Africa's first black president in 1994.

He dedicated his whole life to ending South Africa's institutionalised racism known as apartheid or "separation".
He served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.


*** From wikipedia ***
Mandela studied law and became involved in anti-colonial politics. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) at an early age and formed the ANC Youth League. After the Afrikaner minority government of the National Party established apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organisation's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer he was repeatedly arrested and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the South African Communist Party. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 and led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. In 1962 he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in mainland prisons. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Mandela joined negotiations with Nationalist President F. W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. During his tenure in the Government of National Unity he invited other political parties to join the cabinet, and promulgated a new constitution. He also created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. While continuing the former government's liberal economic policy, his administration also introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Denounced as a communist terrorist by critics, he nevertheless gained international acclaim for his activism, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"); he was often described as the "Father of the Nation".
*** end wikipedia quote ***

This statue was commissioned in 2002. It was completed in 2004 and unveiled at the Nelson Mandela Square (formerly Sandton Square until the unveiling) on the 31st March 2004.

The bronze statue, sculpted by Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane, weighs 2,5 tons. It is 6 metres tall and measures 2,3 metres from elbow to elbow.

The statue is a happy statue - it depicts Mandela doing his famous "Madiba jive" while wearing his favourite shirt.

Nelson Mandela passed away in 2013, aged 95.

(Note : Although the Civil Right Type below defaults to "Race U.S. Civil Rights movement", this should obviously be "Race - abolishment of South African apartheid".)

Civil Right Type: Race (includes U.S. Civil Rights movement)

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