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.

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Native Name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

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

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When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.

I never lose. I either win or learn.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

I never lose, I either win or learn

We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918)

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any person can have.

A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle,and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor.At a point, one can only fight fire with fire

It is music and dancing that make me at peace with the world.

I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind.