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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I shall stick to our vow: never, never under any circumstances, to say anything unbecoming of the other...The trouble, of course, is that most successful men are prone to some form of vanity. There comes a stage in their lives when they consider it permissible to be egotistic and to brag to the public at large about their unique achievements.

It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency, and that if their heart is touched, they are capable of changing.

For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society

Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

As a leader, one must sometimes take actions that are unpopular, or whose results will not be known for years to come.

Like the gardener, a leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

"Resentment is a method of self harm.

"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.

لم يكن تفوقي بالمدرسة نتيجة لنبوغي بل لإصراري و تصميمي على النجاح

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We forgive but not forgotten

Fools multiply when wise men are silent.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.

He knew when to compromise. Yet he never compromised his principles. He was a militant. Yet a militant who knew how to plan, assess concrete situations and emerge with rational solutions to problems.