Nelson Mandela, a revered world statesman who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of its dark days of apartheid, has died, President Jacob Zuma has announced. He was 95. The former president battled health issues in recent years, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations.
In a nation healing from the scars of apartheid, Mandela became the moral compass. His defiance of white-minority rule and his incarceration for fighting against segregation focused the world’s attention on South Africa’s apartheid system, making him a symbol of the struggle for racial equality.
In his lifetime, he was a man of complexities. He went from being considered a terrorist, to an imprisoned freedom fighter, to a unifying figure, to an elder statesman respected worldwide.
(Curled from CNN)