Nelson Mandela's Struggle and His Legacy for South Africa

Apartheid - meaning "separateness" or "apart-hood" in Afrikaans - is recognized by the UN as a crime against humanity. The creation of this system under the government of the National Party in 1948 was proclaimed to pursue the goal of achieving the "separate development" of different South African peoples, but in fact led to decades of inequality, exploitation and police brutality, as South Africa remained a stronghold of white minority rule on the continent even after most other African countries became independent.

The racist regime, however, was not particularly new to the country, whose indigenous peoples as well as non-European immigrants had long been deprived of rights in the colonial era and later. Consequently South Africa gave birth to several civil rights movements – and not just African ones, as this is the country where Indian anti-colonialist Mahatma Gandhi started his career as an activist.

In 1918, four years after Gandhi left South Africa, another future leader was born, destined to become the central figure of the anti-apartheid struggle and the country's first president of African descent.

Rolihlahla (a Xhosa word meaning "troublemaker") Mandela was born on 18 July 1918. He grew up in a noble family combining the traditional Xhosa lifestyle with Christian beliefs held by his mother, who sent him to a Methodist school, where he was baptized Nelson.

In 1939, Mandela started studying law at the University of Fort Hare, an elite institution for non-whites, where he befriended Oliver Tambo, who later became his comrade in the anti-apartheid struggle. After moving to Johannesburg, where he entered the University of the Witwatersrand in 1943 and faced racism, being the only black student, Mandela was introduced to activist Walter Sisulu and became involved in the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC), a liberation movement founded as early as 1912.

When the National Party led by Daniel François Malan won the 1948 election and introduced the policy of apartheid, Mandela grew increasingly influential within the ANC. He was one of the main leaders of the Defiance Campaign against apartheid that was conducted along with communist groups and civil rights movements created by Indian diaspora. The activists engaged in Ghandi-inspired non-violent protests against forced relocations of Africans. This led to Mandela and other ANC leaders being arrested and accused of "statutory communism" under the Suppression of Communism Act. Mandela was put under constrictions that prevented him from his activities as one of the movement's leaders.

In the subsequent years, Mandela provided legal help to Africans through the law firm Mandela and Tambo and faced more allegations by authorities. In 1955, the ANC and its allies set forth their principles in the so-called Freedom Charter which proposed the ideal of a non-racial, peaceful and democratic South Africa.

This led to the split of the black nationalist Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) from the ANC. Although Mandela disagreed with PAC because of the movement's racially exclusionary views, he, among many others, expressed his solidarity with it after 69 participants of PAC-organized protests were killed by the police in what is known as the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, becoming one of the turning points in the history of the anti-apartheid struggle.

The incident became a catalyst for change for Mandela, who then embraced armed struggle against racial inequality. In 1961, he co-founded the ANC paramilitary wing uMkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation"), which organized several bombings of governmental and military facilities. A year later Mandela and his comrades were arrested – with the assistance of the CIA, as was later revealed – and faced the two-year long Rivonia trial which resulted in a sentence of life imprisonment.

Thus began Mandela's 27-year incarceration most of which he spent on Robben Island, then in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. With growing domestic and international attention to his figure, Mandela's imprisonment conditions gradually improved. He widely corresponded with his comrades and personalities from all over the world through letters. Mandela also obtained a degree from the University of London in absentia.

Over the course of time, the apartheid system faced more and more challenges because of the economic crisis, international sanctions and overall growing external and internal opposition which intensified after government forces killed at least 176 protesters in Soweto in 1976.

In the Eighties, Mandela was among the opponents of half-baked apartheid reforms implemented by then-leader Pieter Botha. After the latter suffered a stroke in 1989, he invited Mandela for tea, which the latter appreciated. Soon after, Botha was replaced by FW de Klerk, who realized the inefficency of apartheid. Under his rule, Mandela was released from prison on 11 February 1990. The footage of the activist walking among crowds of supporters, holding raised hands with his second wife Winnie, was broadcast by most major TV channels in the world.

De Klerk's negotiations with Mandela and subsequent reforms resulted in the abolition of apartheid and the first non-racial elections in South African history in 1994. Mandela became the country's president with de Klerk being deputy president as part of an ANC-dominated Government of National Unity that laid the foundations for the country's further democratic development.

Under Mandela, steps were taken to overcome the old racial and ethnic conflicts with the aim to build a non-racial "rainbow nation". A Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to investigate apartheid crimes. To transform the country's economy, Mandela's government embraced a policy combining free market and foreign investment with expanding welfare programs and affirmative action.

Mandela retired from politics in 1999, with his ally Thabo Mbeki becoming the next president. The first black South African leader remained active and influential even after leaving official politics. Mandela participated in anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns, met world leaders and founded several non-profit organizations. In 2004, he lobbied for the FIFA World Cup to take place in South Africa, which came to fruition in 2010, becoming the first tournament of the kind to be held on the continent.

Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013 at the age of 95, after suffering a lung infection.

Along with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, Mandela is considered one of the most iconic anti-racist and anti-colonial activists. In South Africa, he is known as "the father of nation" and often referred by his clan name Madiba, which name was also given to a style of shirt Mandela wore during the Nineties – the Madiba shirts.

Mandela's international recognition led to the United Nations General Assembly proclaiming his birthday, 18 July, as the official "Mandela Day" in 2009. In 2015, th UN also named the amended Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners "the Mandela Rules" to honor Mandela's legacy after his death in 2013.