Nelson Mandela Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Reception and legacy == [[File:Nelson Mandela tributes in Parliament Square - London - DSCF0404.jpg|thumb|Flowers left at the [[Statue of Nelson Mandela, Parliament Square|Mandela statue]] in London's Parliament Square following his death]] By the time of his death, within South Africa Mandela was widely considered both "the father of the nation"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20839504 |title=Nelson Mandela to spend Christmas in S Africa hospital |date=24 December 2012 |work=BBC News|access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-date= 29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129090757/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20839504 |url-status=live }}</ref> and "the founding father of democracy".{{sfn|Meredith|2010|p=565}} Outside of South Africa, he was a "global icon",{{sfnm|1a1=Barnard|1y=2014|1pp=1, 2|2a1=Ndlovu-Gatsheni|2y=2014|2p=906}} with the scholar of South African studies Rita Barnard describing him as "one of the most revered figures of our time".{{sfn|Barnard|2014|pp=1, 2}} One biographer considered him "a modern democratic hero".{{sfn|Lodge|2006|p=225}} Some have portrayed Mandela in messianic terms,{{sfn|Suttner|2007|pp=125–126}} in contrast to his own statement that "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances."{{sfnm|1a1=Meredith|1y=2010|1p=599|2a1=Barnard|2y=2014|2p=4}} He is often cited alongside Mahatma Gandhi and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] as one of the 20th century's exemplary anti-racist and anti-colonial leaders.{{sfnm|1a1=Boehmer|1y=2008|1p=82|2a1=Ndlovu-Gatsheni|2y=2014|2p=918}} Boehmer described him as "a totem of the totemic values of our age: toleration and liberal democracy"{{sfn|Boehmer|2008|p=16}} and "a universal symbol of social justice".{{sfn|Boehmer|2008|p=1}} Mandela's international fame emerged during his incarceration in the 1980s, when he became the world's most famous [[political prisoner]], a symbol of the anti-apartheid cause, and an icon for millions who embraced the ideal of human equality.{{sfn|Barnard|2014|p=1}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hooper|first=Simon|title=The world's most famous political prisoner|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/12/6/the-worlds-most-famous-political-prisoner|access-date=29 June 2021|publisher=Al Jazeera|language=en|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629031818/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/12/6/the-worlds-most-famous-political-prisoner|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=13 July 2018|title=Nelson Mandela's letters detail his 27 years as the world's most famous political prisoner|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-prison-letters-mandela-20180713-story.html|access-date=29 June 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628213118/https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-prison-letters-mandela-20180713-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=7 December 2013|title=Mandela death: How a prisoner became a legend|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25256818|access-date=29 June 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629034532/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25256818|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1986, Mandela's biographer characterised him as "the embodiment of the struggle for liberation" in South Africa.{{sfn|Benson|1986|p=13}} Meredith stated that in becoming "a potent symbol of resistance" to apartheid during the 1980s, he had gained "mythical status" internationally.{{sfn|Meredith|2010|p=xv}} Sampson commented that even during his life, this myth had become "so powerful that it blurs the realities", converting Mandela into "a secular saint".{{sfn|Sampson|2011|p=xxvi}} Within a decade of the end of his presidency, Mandela's era was widely thought of as "a golden age of hope and harmony",{{sfn|Meredith|2010|p=599}} with much [[nostalgia]] being expressed for it.{{sfn|Freund|2014|p=296}} His name was often invoked by those criticising his successors like Mbeki and Zuma.{{sfn|Mangcu|2013|p=101}} Across the world, Mandela earned international acclaim for his activism in overcoming apartheid and fostering racial reconciliation,{{sfn|Meredith|2010|p=xvi}} coming to be viewed as "a moral authority" with a great "concern for truth".{{sfn|Sampson|2011|p=582}} Mandela's iconic status has been blamed for concealing the complexities of his life.{{sfn|Suttner|2016|p=17}} Mandela generated controversy throughout his career as an activist and politician,{{sfn|Barnard|2014|p=2}} having detractors on both the right and the radical left.{{sfn|Boehmer|2008|p=173}} During the 1980s, Mandela was widely labelled a terrorist by prominent political figures in the Western world for his embrace of political violence.{{sfn|Boehmer|2005|p=46}} According to Thatcher, for instance, the ANC was "a typical terrorist organisation".{{sfn|Sampson|2011|p=360}} The US government's [[United States Department of State|State]] and [[United States Department of Defense|Defense]] departments officially designated the ANC as a terrorist organisation, resulting in Mandela remaining on their terrorism watch-list until 2008.<ref>{{cite news |title=US government considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist until 2008 |date=7 December 2013 |publisher=NBC News |last=Windrem |first=Robert |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/us-government-considered-nelson-mandela-terrorist-until-2008-f2D11708787 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200951/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/us-government-considered-nelson-mandela-terrorist-until-2008-f2D11708787 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> On the left, some voices in the ANC—among them [[Frank B. Wilderson III]]—accused him of [[selling out]] for agreeing to enter negotiations with the apartheid government and for not implementing the reforms of the Freedom Charter during his presidency.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnard|1y=2014|1p=2|2a1=Ndlovu-Gatsheni|2y=2014|2p=918}} According to Barnard, "there is also a sense in which his chiefly bearing and mode of conduct, the very respect and authority he accrued in representing his nation in his own person, went against the spirit of democracy",{{sfn|Barnard|2014|p=2}} and concerns were similarly expressed that he placed his own status and celebrity above the transformation of his country.{{sfn|Ndlovu-Gatsheni|2014|p=918}} His government would be criticised for its failure to deal with both the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the high levels of poverty in South Africa.{{sfn|Barnard|2014|p=2}} === Orders, decorations, monuments, and honours === {{Main|List of awards and honours received by Nelson Mandela}} Over the course of his life, Mandela was given over 250 awards, accolades, prizes, honorary degrees and citizenships in recognition of his political achievements.<ref name=CT12>{{Cite news |title=How the awards have just kept flooding in |date=18 July 2012 |work=The Cape Times}}</ref> Among his awards were the Nobel Peace Prize,{{sfnm|1a1=Barber|1y=2004|1p=68|2a1=Lodge|2y=2006|2p=182|3a1=Meredith|3y=2010|3p=494|4a1=Sampson|4y=2011|4p=474}} the US [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/07/20020709-8.html |title=President Honors Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom |date=9 July 2002 |publisher=The White House |access-date=26 October 2008 |archive-date=7 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507035022/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/07/20020709-8.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the Soviet Union's [[Lenin Peace Prize]],<ref name=CT12/> and the Libyan [[Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights]].<ref name="TimeGadafiPrize">{{cite news|title=Prizes: And the Winner Is ...|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957634,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022074618/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957634,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2010|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=8 May 1989|access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref> In 1990, India awarded him the [[Bharat Ratna]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/list-of-all-bharat-ratna-award-winners-81336 |title=List of all Bharat Ratna award winners |date=21 January 2011 |publisher=NDTV |access-date=14 February 2013 |archive-date=11 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311165846/http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/list-of-all-bharat-ratna-award-winners-81336 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 1992 Pakistan gave him their [[Nishan-e-Pakistan]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mandela in Pakistan |newspaper=The Independent |publisher=Independent Print Limited |date=3 October 1992 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/mandela-in-pakistan-1555096.html |access-date=7 June 2010 |archive-date=24 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324023657/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/mandela-in-pakistan-1555096.html |url-status=live |location=London }}</ref> The same year, he was awarded the Atatürk Peace Award by Turkey; he at first refused the award, citing human rights violations committed by Turkey at the time,<ref name=ataturk>{{cite web |url=http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/1992/pr0412a.html |title=Statement on the Ataturk Award given to Nelson Mandela |date=12 April 1992 |publisher=African National Congress |access-date=2 January 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061001161737/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/1992/pr0412a.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 1 October 2006}}</ref> but later accepted the award in 1999.<ref name=CT12/> He was appointed to the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-1999-3755 |title=Royal Decree 270/1999, 12th February 1999 |date=13 February 1999 |work=Spanish Official State Gazette |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135112/https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-1999-3755 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Order of Canada]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/southafrica-afriquedusud/eyes_abroad-coupdoeil/NelsonMandelaDJ.aspx?lang=eng&view=d |title=Canada presents Nelson Mandela with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal |date=23 August 2012 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |access-date=14 February 2013 |archive-date=2 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502173317/http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/southafrica-afriquedusud/eyes_abroad-coupdoeil/NelsonMandelaDJ.aspx?lang=eng&view=d |url-status=dead}}</ref> and was the first living person to be made an [[Honorary Citizenship of Canada|honorary Canadian citizen]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/11/19/mandela_011119.html |title=Mandela to be honoured with Canadian citizenship |date=19 November 2001 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=26 October 2008 |archive-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623133504/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2001/11/19/mandela_011119.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Queen Elizabeth II appointed him as a Bailiff Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Order of St. John]] and granted him membership in the [[Order of Merit]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1880.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050105152154/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1880.asp |archive-date=5 January 2005 |title=The Order of Merit |date = November 2002|publisher=Royal Insight |access-date=26 October 2008}}</ref> In 2004, Johannesburg granted Mandela the Freedom of the City,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpg.gov.za/docs/nz/2004/nz0727.html |title=Madiba conferred freedom of Johannesburg |date=27 July 2004 |publisher=Gauteng Provincial Government |access-date=26 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621081749/http://www.gpg.gov.za/docs/nz/2004/nz0727.html|archive-date=21 June 2008}}</ref> and in 2008 a Mandela statue was unveiled at the spot where Mandela was released from prison.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=703:mandelastatue270808&catid=42:land_news&Itemid=110 |title=Long walk immortalised in bronze |last=Stern |first=Jennifer |date=27 August 2008 |publisher=Media Club South Africa |access-date=30 November 2009 |archive-date=24 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724045736/http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=703:mandelastatue270808&catid=42:land_news&Itemid=110 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the [[Day of Reconciliation]] 2013, a bronze statue of Mandela was unveiled at Pretoria's Union Buildings.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nelson Mandela statue unveiled in Pretoria by Zuma|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25399709|work=BBC News|access-date=23 December 2013|date=16 December 2013|archive-date=19 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219063446/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25399709|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2009, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] proclaimed Mandela's birthday, 18 July, as "[[Mandela Day]]", marking his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. It called on individuals to donate 67 minutes to doing something for others, commemorating the 67 years that Mandela had been a part of the movement.<ref>{{harvnb|Battersby|2011|p=601}}; {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8353853.stm |title=UN gives backing to 'Mandela Day' |work=BBC News|access-date=11 November 2009 | date=11 November 2009 | archive-date=29 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829172211/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8353853.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015 the UN General Assembly named the amended [[Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners]] as "the Mandela Rules" to honour his legacy.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/viewm_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.3/70/L.3 |title=Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners from the United Nations General Assembly |publisher=United Nations |date=29 September 2015 |page=6 |access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930064510/https://www.un.org/ga/search/viewm_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.3/70/L.3 |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequently, the years 2019 to 2028 were also designated the United Nations Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N18/303/56/PDF/N1830356.pdf?OpenElement | title=Ods Home Page | access-date=23 December 2022 | archive-date=23 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223011151/https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N18/303/56/PDF/N1830356.pdf?OpenElement | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/decade_of_peace.shtml | title=Nelson Mandela International Day | access-date=23 December 2022 | archive-date=18 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218230025/https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/decade_of_peace.shtml | url-status=live }}</ref> <!-- NOTE: Rather than expanding this section, please add information about awards to [[List of Nelson Mandela awards and honours]]. --> === Biographies and popular media === The first biography of Mandela was based on brief interviews with him that the author, Mary Benson, had conducted in the 1960s.{{sfn|Lodge|2006|p=8}} Two authorised biographies were later produced by friends of Mandela.{{sfn|Lodge|2006|p=vii}} The first was Fatima Meer's ''Higher Than Hope'', which was heavily influenced by Winnie and thus placed great emphasis on Mandela's family.{{sfn|Lodge|2006|pp=vii, 13–14}} The second was Anthony Sampson's ''Mandela'', published in 1999.{{sfn|Lodge|2006|p=vii}} Other biographies included Martin Meredith's ''Mandela'', first published in 1997, and Tom Lodge's ''Mandela'', brought out in 2006.{{sfn|Lodge|2006|p=vii}} Since the late 1980s, Mandela's image began to appear on a proliferation of items, among them "photographs, paintings, drawings, statues, public murals, buttons, t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, and more",{{sfn|Nelson|2014|p=130}} items that have been characterised as "Mandela kitsch".{{sfn|Nelson|2014|p=138}} In the 1980s he was the subject of several songs, such as [[The Specials]]' "[[Free Nelson Mandela]]", [[Hugh Masekela]]'s "[[Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)]]", and [[Johnny Clegg]]'s "[[Asimbonanga|Asimbonanga (Mandela)]]", which helped to bring awareness of his imprisonment to an international audience.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dorian |last=Lynskey |date=6 December 2013 |title=Nelson Mandela: The Triumph of the Protest Song |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/06/nelson-mandela-protest-song-special-aka |access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-date=9 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209005705/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/06/nelson-mandela-protest-song-special-aka |url-status=live }}</ref> Mandela has also been depicted in films on multiple occasions.{{sfn|Bromley|2014|p=41}} Some of these, such as the 2013 feature film ''[[Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom]]'', the 2017 miniseries ''[[Madiba (miniseries)|Madiba]]'' and the 1996 documentary ''Mandela'', have focused on covering his adult life in entirety or until his inaugural as president. Others, such as the 2009 feature film ''[[Invictus (film)|Invictus]]'' and the 2010 documentary ''[[The 16th Man]]'', have focused on specific events in his life.{{sfn|Bromley|2014|p=41}} Lukhele has argued that in ''Invictus'' and other films, "the America film industry" has played a significant part in "the crafting of Mandela's global image".{{sfn|Lukhele|2012|p=289}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page