Nelson Mandela was born in the east of South Africa. His father died when he was only 12 years old, and the regent of the area looked after him. He listened and learned a lot about the unfair segregation in his country, known as apartheid. This system was built on the idea that all aspects of your life – where you lived, the jobs you could do, the transport you could take – were all decided by the colour of your skin. White people had the most economic and educational advantages, and Black people the least – they weren’t even allowed to use their own languages at school.

As Mandela grew up, he became an anti-apartheid activist, and he became famous for spending 27 years in prison for fighting for equality between all South Africans. During his time in prison, world opinion became increasingly on his side, and pressure was put on the government to change its system.

On his release, he became South Africa’s first Black President. He campaigned globally for a fairer world. He is still an icon of resilience, optimism, integrity and fairness. Nelson Mandela spent 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity.