By Jueseppi B.

It was something we all expected and knew it was eventually coming. It still hurts and makes me wonder what the future holds for this Planet. The Globe does not have many living humans who are the essence of change and the symbol or equality. We lost one today.

From Business Insider:

Nelson Mandela Dead: Former South African President Has Died At 95

By ADAM TAYLOR AND PAMELA ENGEL

Nelson Mandela has died today at the age of 95, according to South African President Jacob Zuma. His death marks the final chapter in a life that changed South Africa forever.

The former South African president had been suffering from a recurring lung infection, and the Daily Telegraph reports that his friends and family had gathered at his bed today. Zuma announced his death in a televised address to the nation.

“Our nation has lost its greatest son, yet what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human,” Zuma said. “We saw in him what we seek in ourselves, and in him we saw so much of ourselves.”

Mandela’s struggle was one of the defining stories of the 20th century. Trained as a lawyer, he became involved in politics after 1948 as South Africa moved into a system of racial apartheid. While initially espousing non-violent protests with the African National Congress (ANC), he eventually founded a militant organization and was behind a bombing campaign in the early 1960s. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in 1962.

Initially imprisoned in a 8 feet by 7 feet concrete cell with only a straw mat on which to sleep, Mandela’s imprisonment soon became an international cause. He was eventually released on 2 February 1990 after intervention by President F. W. de Klerk.

Mandela became president of the ANC in 1991, and was elected president of South Africa in May 1994, a position in which he remained until 1999. During his time in office he led the dismantling of the apartheid system, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Mandela is survived by his wife, Graça Machel, six children, and 17 grandchildren.

Mandela had been sick for a long time. Earlier this year, South Africa’s Sunday Times ran a story on Mandela’s illness under the headline “It’s time to let him go.”

Thank you Business Insider.

His Excellency Nelson Mandela OM AC CC OJ GCStJ QC GCH BR RSO NPK

Mandela in May 2008
President of South Africa
In office 10 May 1994 – 14 June 1999
Deputy	Thabo Mbeki F. W. de Klerk
Preceded by	F. W. de Klerk
Succeeded by	Thabo Mbeki
Personal details
Born	Rolihlahla Mandela 18 July 1918 Mvezo, Cape Province, South Africa
Died	5 December 2013
Nationality	South African
Political party	African National Congress
Spouse(s)	Evelyn Ntoko Mase (1944–1957) Winnie Madikizela (1958–1996) Graça Machel (1998–present)
Children	Madiba Thembekile Makgatho Lewanika Makaziwe Maki Zenani Zindziswa Josina Z. Machel (step daughter) Malengani Machel (step son)
Residence	Houghton Estate,Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Alma mater	University of Fort Hare University of London External System University of South Africa University of the Witwatersrand
Religion	Christianity (Methodism)
Signature
Website	www.nelsonmandela.org

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa born 18 July 1918 — December 5, 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

A Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner nationalists of the National Party came to power in 1948 and began implementing the policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence in the ANC’s 1952 Defiance Campaign, was elected President of the Transvaal ANC Branch and oversaw the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961 but was found not guilty. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the South African Communist Party he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Becoming ANC President, Mandela published his autobiography and led negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. He was elected President and formed a Government of National Unity in an attempt to defuse ethnic tensions. As President, he promulgated a new constitution and initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Continuing the former government’s liberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela subsequently became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela has been a controversial figure for much of his life. Right-wing critics denounced him as a terrorist and communist sympathizer. He nevertheless gained international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having received more than 250 honors, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata (“Father”); he is often described as “the father of the nation”. He died on December 5th, 2013.

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Former president’s friends and loved ones gather at his house in South Africa, with the 95 year-old described as ‘on his death-bed’

From The Telegrapk UK:

Friends and family gather at Nelson Mandela’s side

By Aislinn Laing, Joannesburg

Nelson Mandela’s family and friends were gathering at his house last night, just days after his eldest daughter said the revered former South African statesman was “on his deathbed”.

Two of Mr Mandela’s granddaughters and Bantu Holomisa, a close family friend, were among those seen entering the house in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton, along with military personnel responsible for the former president’s health.

With little explanation for the large contingent, there were rumours that the 95-year-old’s ailing health had once again taken a turn for the worse.

One family friend said he had been told Mr Mandela’s condition had “deteriorated quite a bit”, but could not give further details. “Things are quite gloomy,” he added.

Mac Maharaj, President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman, said he was seeking an update from Mr Mandela’s doctors “because of the rumours journalists are coming up with”.

The development came as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the London premiere of the Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom, in which South Africa’s first black, democratic president is played by British actor Idris Elba.

Mr Mandela’s daughter Zindzi, who also attended the screening at the Odeon in Leicester Square, told journalists her father was “fine” but “frail”.

“My father is fine. He’s 95 years old and he is pretty frail. We are hoping to see more of him,” she said.

She revealed that Mr Mandela has seen some clips of the film, which is adapted from his autobiography of the same name and stars Elba as the former South African president.

Earlier this week, Mr Mandela’s eldest daughter Makaziwe described him as fighting from his “deathbed,” but still being “very strong” and “very courageous”.

“Even when there are moments when you can see he’s struggling, but the fighting spirit is still there with him,” she told the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Mr Mandela has been receiving round-the-clock intensive care from 22 military and other doctors since September, when he was discharged from a three-month hospital stay for a lung infection.

Thank you The Telegrapk UK.