Nelson Mandela
Enjoy freedom with the world’s most famous prisoner
The founder of the Rainbow Nation and a hero in his homeland and across the globe. Mandela spent 27 years in prison before going on to become president of South Africa and is a symbol of hope and of triumph against adversity. His efforts to end Apartheid won him the Nobel Prize for peace in 1993.
1918: Born in Mvezo, Eastern Cape
1952: Imprisoned for protesting against Apartheid
1955: Takes part in the Congress of the People, laying out the vision of the South African People
1956: Arrested for treason and subsequently acquitted
1961: Becomes leader of the armed wing of the African National Congress
1962: Arrested and imprisoned in Johannesburg
1964: Sentenced to life on Robben Island for planning armed action and for sabotage
1981: Receives Bachelor of Laws degree via correspondence course from University of London
1982: Transferred to Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison in cape Town.
1990: Released by President FW de Klerk
Leads the ANC
1994: Becomes South Africa’s first black president
'1999: Takes his well earned retirement
Who else?