Top 15 Nelson Mandela Quotes

President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist (1918–2013)

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Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. He was the co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk in 1993.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Native Name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Alternative Names: Mandela • Prisoner 46664 • Madiba • Rolihllahla • Rolihllahla Mandela • Father of the Nation

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Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.

It always seems impossible until it's done.

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.

Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.