Anti-apartheid icon and former South African President Nelson Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95 in his Houghton home surrounded by his wife and family.
South Africa's current President Jacob Zuma announced on national television that Mandela, also known affectionately as Tata Madiba, had "departed" and was at peace.
Zuma urged all South African's to "recall the values for which Madiba fought." The South African President said Mandela would have a state funeral, adding that flags would fly half-mast from December 6th until after the funeral.
Mandela had been receiving intensive medical care at his home in Houghton, a Johannesburg suburb, ever since he was discharged in September from a hospital in Pretoria, where he spent nearly three months for treatment of a recurring lung infection.
Mandela was the leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, for which he was jailed for almost 27 years. It is believed that he contracted tuberculosis while under detention in Robben Island prison in the 1980s.
Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after he led the African National Congress to victory in the country's first all-race elections.
Although he stepped down as President in 1999 after just one term in office, most South Africans consider him to be father of the nation.
Mandela had officially retired from public life in 2004. But his health has been the cause of concern in recent years, as the former President sought hospital treatment on several occasions in the past two years.
Notably, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid president of South Africa.
In a statement, U.S. President Barack Obama described Mandela as "one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth."
"We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again," Obama said. "So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice."
Obama called President Zuma to express his heartfelt condolences on Mandela's death and reaffirm that the historic partnership between the U.S. and South Africa will continue to draw strength from Mandela's legacy.
(Photo Credit: "South Africa The Good News" www.sagoodnews.co.za)
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