Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a lawyer, activist against apartheid, politician and South African philanthropist who presided over his country from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black chief executive who headed the Executive Power, and the first to be elected by universal suffrage in his country . His government was dedicated to dismantling the social and political structure inherited from apartheid through the fight against institutionalized racism, poverty and social inequality, and the promotion of social reconciliation. He was imprisoned for 27 years, first on Robben Island and then in Pollsmoor and Víctor Verster prisons. International campaigns advocated his release, and he was released in 1990 amid a social upheaval in South Africa. He intervened in the political negotiations with Frederik de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish the general elections of 1994, in which he led the ANC to triumph at the polls.
