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Nelson Mandela
Historical figureSouth Africa1918-2013

Nelson Mandela

President of South Africa (1994-1999) · Leader of the African National Congress

South African freedom fighter jailed for 27 years under apartheid, who went on to lead the nation as its first president chosen in free elections and sought a democracy for all races.

Compare yourself See the 12 scores
Profile on 12 axes11 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Nelson Mandela, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-25
    PublicPrivate

    In 1964 he said the Freedom Charter called for nationalizing mines, banks and monopoly industry inside a private-enterprise economy. His own government later leaned more to markets, so this score is a judgment call.

  2. 02Markets-15
    PlannedFree
  3. 03Welfare-45
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority-45
    DemocraticStrong leader

    He respected parliamentary democracy and checks on power, and he gave up the presidency after one term.

  5. 05Security-10
    LibertyOrder

    Once peaceful protest was banned, he helped direct a campaign of armed sabotage against apartheid. In later years he put reconciliation and constitutional rights first. The score sits near the middle.

  6. 06Structure+10
    LocalCentral
  7. 07Morality-30
    ProgressiveTraditional

    He scores mildly progressive because he called for non-sexism and equality, though social issues were not his main focus.

  8. 08Religion-10
    SecularReligious
  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution

    No known stance on regulating technology, so this is left empty.

  10. 10Culture-60
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade-10
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy-40
    CooperationStrength

One axis has no clear record, so matching leaves it out.

Who was Nelson Mandela?

Mandela was born in 1918 in Mvezo, in the Eastern Cape. He studied at Fort Hare and at the University of the Witwatersrand, and he became a member of the African National Congress in 1944 and helped found its Youth League. He led the Defiance Campaign of 1952. When peaceful protest was banned, in 1961 he helped found Umkhonto we Sizwe, the movement's military arm. A court at the Rivonia Trial gave him a life term in 1964, and he walked free in February 1990. He shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and won the presidency in 1994. He left office after a single term in 1999 and died in 2013.

Political views

  • He said he admired parliamentary democracy, naming the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights and the idea of separate branches of government.Source: static.un.org
  • At the Rivonia Trial he told the court he had resisted rule by whites and rule by blacks alike. What he wanted was a free, democratic society where everyone had an equal chance.Source: static.un.org
  • He denied that the ANC was a communist organization and said the Freedom Charter was no blueprint for socialism.Source: static.un.org
  • He explained that the Freedom Charter asked for land to be redistributed and for mines, banks and monopoly industry to be nationalized, within an economy that stayed open to private business.Source: static.un.org
  • In 1961 he agreed to lead an armed struggle once peaceful protest was outlawed, and he helped begin a campaign of sabotage.Source: nelsonmandela.org
  • His Nobel lecture described a world of democracy and human rights, free of poverty, internal war and foreign aggression.Source: nobelprize.org

Legacy

People around the world honor Mandela as a symbol of resistance to apartheid and of forgiveness. His presidency guided South Africa from white minority rule to a constitutional democracy open to all races. Admirers credit him with preventing a wider conflict and holding the nation together. While apartheid lasted, Pretoria and some Western governments called the ANC a terrorist group over its armed struggle. Left-wing critics say his government did too little to share land and wealth. Others question how the ANC has ruled since.

In their own words

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.”
Statement from the dock at the Rivonia Trial, 1964

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Nelson Mandela: questions

Which party did Nelson Mandela lead?

The African National Congress, or ANC. He joined in 1944, later became its president and won the 1994 vote, the first time all South Africans could take part.

Was Nelson Mandela a communist?

He said not. In court he insisted that neither he nor the ANC was communist, although he admitted working with communists against apartheid. Historians still argue about his links to the South African Communist Party.

Why did Nelson Mandela go to prison?

In 1964 a court found him guilty of sabotage-type charges over his part in the ANC's fight with arms against apartheid. He had been held since 1962 and went free in 1990.

Sources

Portrait: Nelson Mandela 1994.jpg by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and converted to grayscale by 12axes-test.com.