Statesman played a major role in efforts to unite Africa

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was one of the greatest moral figures of the 20th century. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, he was a nation-builder par excellence who did the most to unite a South Africa divided for decades by colonialism and apartheid and on the brink of a potential civil war. Mandela embodied a quasi-religious “prophetic” leadership that eventually freed his people from the bondage of apartheid. An often-neglected part of his legacy is, however, his role as a pan-African icon. Mandela’s struggle for South Africa’s liberation and pan-African solidarity also embraced prophetic rule. The charismatic leader of the ANC was able to build up and maintain...