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1918 - 2013
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South Africa’s first black president who led the struggle against Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, died on Thursday aged 95.
Announcing Mandela’s death, South African president Jacob Zuma addressed his nation saying:
“[Mandela’s] tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.”
“[Mandela and his family] have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free.”
“Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.”
“Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Madiba as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause”
“Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another.
Let us commit ourselves to strive together – sparing neither strength nor courage – to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.”