Nelson Mandela, the revered statesman who emerged from
prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of decades
of apartheid, has died, South African President Jacob Zuma
announced late Thursday.
Mandela was 95.
"He is now resting. He is now at peace," Zuma said. "Our
nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a
father."
The former president battled health issues in recent
months, including a recurring lung infection that led to
numerous hospitalizations.
With advancing age and bouts of illness, Mandela retreated
to a quiet life at his boyhood home in the nation's
Eastern Cape Province, where he said he was most at
peace.
Despite rare public appearances, he held a special place in
the nation's consciousness.
A hero to blacks and whites
In a nation healing from the scars of apartheid, Mandela
became a moral compass.
His defiance of white minority rule and incarceration for
fighting against segregation focused the world's attention on
apartheid, the legalized racial segregation enforced by the
South African government until 1994.
In his lifetime, he was a man of complexities. He went
from a militant freedom fighter, to a prisoner, to a
unifying figure, to an elder statesman.