Ah. There is not a whole lot I can say about Nelson Mandela that you probably don't already know. He was an extremely courageous individual who was inspired at a very young age by stories of his ancestors' struggles for justice.
He was born into the Thembu royal family, although, by certain rules surrounding his mother's heritage, he was not able to inherit the throne. His father was a counselor to the active King during his childhood. By his own admission, he was not a very good student, but managed to become a lawyer, nonetheless. A controversial figure for most of his life, he spent 27 years in prison.
When he was released in 1994, he vowed to himself to forgive all of his captors. He served one term as the first democratically elected Chief Executive of South Africa, and in his lifetime, received over 250 international honors including the Nobel Peace Prize.
He is deeply revered in his home country and is often referred by the name Madiba, his Xhosa clan name or "Tata" which means "Father," as he is considered the" father of the nation of South Africa."
