July 18 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of South Africa's most revered political leader and reconciliatory hero, Nelson Mandela, in 1918. Having endured 27 years in prison, Mandela went on to become South Africa’s first black president and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election, serving as head of state from 1994-1999. TASS remembers one of the most significant figures of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Nelson Mandela at 100: Looking back at South Africa’s heroic anti-apartheid fighter
Nelson Mandela would have been 100 years old today
Photo {{sliderIndex+1}} from 11
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, British South Africa. Photo: Nelson Mandela in Umtata at the age of 19
© wikimedia.org Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Photo: Crowds cheer as a police van brings prisoners to the Drill Hall, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1956, for the start of the 'Treason Trial'. Nelson Mandela was among the people arrested and standing trial
© AP Photo Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie at Cape Town's airport prior to a flight to Johannesburg, 1990, the day after his release from prison
© AP Photo /File, Adil Bradlow Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie, walking hand in hand, raise clenched fists upon his release from Victor prison, Cape Town, 1990.
© AP Photo Nelson Mandela became the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. Photo: Nelson Mandela casting his vote in the 1994 elections
© wikimedia.org Nelson Mandela, president of the African National Congress, speaks at the United nations, 1992
© AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler Nelson Mandela toasts his Nobel Peace Prize with members of his staff at the ANC headquarters during a celebration in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1993
© AP Photo/John Parkin Russian President Boris Yeltsin and South African President Nelson Mandela talking prior to the meeting in Kremlin, 1999
© Alexandr Chumichev/TASS Nelson Mandela chats with Prof. Dame Leonie Kramer, vice chancellor of the University of Sydney, and Sir Gerard Brennan, chancellor of the University of Technology, after the former South African leader received two honorary doctorates at Sydney University Iin Sydney, 2000
© AP Photo/David Gray, Pool Former South African President Nelson Mandela reacts at the Mandela foundation, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009, during a meeting with a group of American and South African students as part of a series of activities leading to Mandela Day on July 18th
© AP Photo/Pool-Theana Calitz-Bilt, Pool Former US President Barack Obama delivers his speech during an address marking the 100th anniversary of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela's birth at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa
© AP Photo/Themba Hadebe