Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on the 18th July 1918 in Umtata, Transkei, the son of a head of the Royal House of Tembu. He began to study Law at the University of Fort Hare, but was expelled for promoting a student strike in 1940, being forced to continue his studies at Witwatersrand.

A member of the African National Congress (ANC) since 1944, in 1952 he directed the "Defiance Campaign", after which he was banned from holding official positions in the ANC or taking part in assemblies until 1958. In 1962, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for incitement to strike and leaving South Africa illegally. Two years later he was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy and incitement to violent revolution.

After being freed on the 11th February 1990, Nelson Mandela was appointed National President of the ANC. Since then he has received numerous prizes and has been made a doctor honoris causa of many different universities throughout the world, including the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Seville.

Mandela was freed during President De Klerk's term of office. From their respective positions, both Mandela and De Klerk have negotiated for the great reforms that are gradually making it possible to abolish the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa, a policy which until very recently had resulted in the practically complete isolation of the country from the rest of the world.