Albert Lutuli

Chief Albert John Lutuli was born circa 1898 near Bulawayo and(c. 1898 – 21 July 1967) was a South African teacher and politician. Lutuli was elected president of the African National Congress (ANC), at the time an organisation that led opposition to the white minority government in South Africa. He was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the non-violent struggle against apartheid. He died 21 July 1967, allegedly after by run over by a train.

On completing a teaching course at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg, Lutuli took up the running of a small primary school in the Natal uplands. He was confirmed in the Methodist church and became a lay preacher. In 1920 he received a government bursary to attend a higher teachers' training course at Adams College.
His Christian beliefs acted as a foundation for his approach to political life in South Africa at a time when many of his contemporaries were calling for a more militant response to Apartheid.

In 1935 Luthuli accepted the chieftaincy of the Groutville reserve (this was not an hereditary position, but awarded as the result of an election) and was suddenly immersed in the realities of South Africa's racial politics.
Chief Albert Luthuli joined the ANC in 1945 and was elected to the Committee of the KwaZulu Province Provincial Division of ANC and in 1951 to the presidency of the Division. The next year he joined with other ANC leaders in organizing non-violent campaigns to defy discriminatory laws.

The government, charging Lutuli with a conflict of interest, demanded that he withdraw his membership in ANC or forfeit his office as tribal chief. Refusing to do either voluntarily, he was dismissed from his chieftainship.
A month later Lutuli was elected president-general of ANC. Responding immediately, the government imposed a succession of bans on his movement, the first for two years, the second also for two years. When this second ban expired, he attended an ANC conference in 1956, only to be arrested and charged with treason a few months later, along with 155 others. After being held in custody for about a year during the preliminary hearings, he was released in December, 1957, and the charges against him were dropped.

In 1960, following the Sharpville Massacre, Luthuli led the call for protest. Once again summoned to a governmental hearing (this time in Johannesburg) Luthuli was horrified when a supporting demonstration turned violent and 72 Black Africans were shot (and another 200 injured). Luthuli responded by publicly burning his pass book. He was detained on 30 March under the 'State of Emergency' declared by the South African government - one of 18,000 arrested in a series of police raids. On release he was confined to his home in Stanger, Natal.

In 1961 Chief Albert Luthuli was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace (it had been held over that year) for his part in the anti-Apartheid struggle. In 1962 he was elected Rector of Glasgow University (an honorary position), and the following year published his autobiography, 'Let My People Go'. Although suffering from ill health and failing eyesight, and still restricted to his home in Stranger, Albert Luthuli remained president-general of the ANC. On 21 July 1967, whilst out walking near his home, Luthuli was hit by a train and died. He was supposedly crossing the line at the time - an explanation dismissed by many of his followers who believed more sinister forces were at work.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 18 July 1918) was the 11th President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative democratic elections. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress. He spent 27 years in prison, much of it on Robben Island, on convictions for crimes that included sabotage committed while he spearheaded the struggle against apartheid.



Among opponents of apartheid in South Africa and internationally, he became a symbol of freedom and equality, while the apartheid government and nations sympathetic to it condemned him and the ANC as communists and terrorists.
Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, his switch to a policy of reconciliation and negotiation helped lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid, he has been widely praised, even by former opponents.

Mandela has received more than 100 awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993. He is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues. In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Mandela has frequently credited Mahatma Gandhi for being a major source of inspiration in his life, both for the philosophy of non-violence and for facing adversity with dignity.

Since stepping down as president in 1999, Mr Mandela has become South Africa's highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and securing his country's right to host the 2010 football World Cup.
Mr Mandela - diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001 - has also been actively involved in peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other African countries.

Over the last five years his public appearances have gradually become less frequent and mostly connected with the work of the Mandela Foundation, a charitable fund that he founded.

Since officially retiring five years ago (aged 85), Mandela has become an advocate for a variety of social and human rights organisations. He has expressed his support for the international Make Poverty History movement.
Mandela appeared in a televised advertisement for the 2006 Winter Olympics, and was quoted for the International Olympic Committee's Celebrate Humanity campaign:

For seventeen days, they are roommates.
For seventeen days, they are soulmates.
And for twenty-two seconds, they are competitors.
Seventeen days as equals. Twenty-two seconds as adversaries.
What a wonderful world that would be.
That's the hope I see in the Olympic Games.

The Nelson Mandela Invitational charity golf tournament, hosted by ,Gary Player, has raised over R20 million for children's charities since its inception in 2000. This annual special event has become South Africa's most successful charitable sports gathering and benefits both the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and Gary Player Foundation equally for various children's causes around the world.

In July 2007, Nelson Mandela announced the formation of The Elders, a group of world leaders who will contribute their wisdom and independent leadership to address the world's toughest problems.

"This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken," Mandela commented. "Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair."


One of Mandela's primary commitments has been to the fight against AIDS and in 2003, he lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign, named after his prison number.
Possibly his most noteworthy intervention of recent years came early in 2005, following the death of his only son, Makgatho.
In a country where taboos still surround talking about the Aids epidemic, Mr Mandela announced that his son had died of Aids, and urged South Africans talk about Aids "so to make it appear like a normal illness".