NFT Overview

February 11, 1990: After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela is finally released from incarceration. Arrested in 1962 and convicted in 1964 of conspiring to overthrow the South African government, Mandela's release signaled the beginnings of negotiations that would ultimately lead to the end of apartheid. The decision was an act of political courage by the recently elected President F.W. de Klerk who quickly adopted measures to change the country's legislation and finally bring democracy to the nation.

The decision to grant Mandela's release, and its timing, was based on the culmination of decades of political, economic and social change. Shortly after regaining his freedom, Mandela went on to lead the African National Congress political party and its negotiations with the South African government to end apartheid. President de Klerk, Mandela and the ANC worked together over three years to form a new constitution that would finally let black South Africans participate in the political sphere.

Apartheid, the state implemented system of institutionalized racial oppression, was officially instated by the South African government in 1948 with the election of the Nationalist Party. The policy ensured that South African politics were dominated by the nation's minority white population and denied non-white citizens basic human rights, including the right to vote. Blacks were forced to live in government allocated area and were restricted from designated white-only areas. Interracial marriage and sexual relations were made illegal. Government sanctioned Land Acts set aside less than 20 percent of the country's land for the overwhelming black majority population and additional Pass Laws required non-white citizens to carry documents that authorized their presence within restricted areas. The African National Congress became an early voice opposed to the policy of institutionalized apartheid. The ANC was banned by the government in 1960 and many of its leading members, including Nelson Mandela, were imprisoned for treason.

Following his release from prison, Mandela and President de Klerk shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their tandem work dismantling the apartheid system. A year later, Mandela would go on to win the first multi-racial democratic election in 1994, becoming South Africa's first Black president.

However, Nelson Mandela was more than just a South African political leader. His persistent advocacy and activism through 27 years of imprisonment transformed him into a larger than life figure. He became internationally recognized as a symbol for the movement to end racial segregation, and for global justice, equality and human rights. Mandela's path from prisoner to President in just four years, coupled with his sacrifice and perseverance not only advanced democracy within South Africa, but forever altered the political and social landscape of the nation.