Nelson Mandela ran in the first multi-racial elections in the nation. His election as president pushed out the reigning National Party of South Africa which advocated the Afrikaner culture, apartheid and establishment of the republic. The ideology of the National Party is rather offensive when held to today's standards.
They used a system of legal segregation referred to as apartheid and enforced by the government since 1948. The nation's inhabitants were segregated in education, housing, medical care, and basically everywhere else. Commonly, the services provided to blacks were inferior to those given to the white.
Mandela's new found presidency brought an end to the apartheid in 1994 along with the National Party's dominance. His association with the ANC party (African National Congress) also led to their establishment as the ruling party of South Africa in 1994 and continues today.
Prior to his political career, Mandela spent 27 years of his life in prison due to his involvement and advocacy of the ANC party under the National Party's rule. For this, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Most recently a film, entitled Invictus was released and told the inspiring real-life story of South Africa's Rugby team competing in the 1995 Rugby World Cup under the presidency of Nelson Mandela. The South African rugby team, aka the Springboks were hated by many South African blacks because the team included Afrikaners. The blacks still harbored resentment for their treatment under the pro-Afrikaner National Party. However, Mandela encouraged them to support the team and when they won a remarkable victory over New Zealand, Mandela presented the trophy to the Afrikaner captain, Francois Pienarr in Pienarr's #6 jersey. This signified a great turning point in the nation's history towards reconciliation between whites and blacks in South Africa.
It's rather remarkable how Nelson Mandela shaped the new South Africa. It was rather shocking to find that just 16 years ago legal segregation forced the black population of the country to bow to the Afrikaner whites . It reminds me of the European race for Africa that I only learned about in textbooks. It's surprising to find that oppression like that used in Africa's colonization hundreds of years ago still existed, legally, until 1994. Mandela did his nation a great service and his name will always carry a symbolic meaning of justice and affection, especially to his people.
Below is a fasicnating video from 1961 that shows Nelson Mandela before his presidency.
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