The African National Congress won the election and, as head of the party, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first black President on 10 May 1994. He went on to form a Government of National Unity, before stepping down after one term of office in 1999.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Honourary Laureate)
Current Work
Since his retirement, one of Mandela's primary commitments has been to the fight against AIDS. In 2003, he had already lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign, named after his prison number.
He is also the patron and founder of three organisations: the Nelson Mandela Foundation; the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund; and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation contributes to the making of a just society by promoting the vision, values and work of its founder, and convening dialogue around critical social issues.
The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund strives to change the way society treats its children and youth.
The central purpose of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation is to build exceptional leadership capacity in Africa.
On 18 July 2007, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu convened a group of world leaders in Johannesburg to contribute their wisdom and independent leadership to address the world's toughest problems. Nelson Mandela announced the formation of this new group, The Elders, in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Honourary Laureate)
Prize Ceremony
To present the honourary award to President Nelson Mandela, in 2008 Foundation representatives travelled to his house in Cape Town.
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About South Africa
Capital: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)
Population: 47.9 million (2007)
Area: 1.2 million sq. km. (470,462 sq. mi.)
Major Languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga (all official languages)
Religions: Predominantly Christian; traditional African, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish
Life Expectancy: 49 years (men), 52 years (women) (2007)
Head of State: President Jacob Zuma
Major Political Parties: African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA), Congress of the People (COPE)
Membership of international groupings and organisations: United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Commonwealth, Non Aligned Movement (NAM), Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Key economic data
GDP: $277 billion (2008 est)
GDP per capita: $5,684 (2008 est)
GDP Growth: 3.1% (2008 est)
Inflation: 11.8% (2008 est)
Major Industries: minerals, mining, motor vehicles and parts, machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, information technology, electronics, other manufacturing, and agro-processing
Major trading partners: Japan, U.S., Germany, China, U.K., Sub-Saharan Africa
