Nelson Mandela As President Of South Africa

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Recommended: Apartheid in South Africa -- Historical Context

Nelson Mandela as President Nelson Mandela was initially the President of the African National Congree ( ANC ) in 1991, which via negotiations with the apartheid state, he led ANC to victory in the first election in South Africa in 1994. This then further resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming the first democratically elected leader of South Africa in May 10 1994. However, Nelson Mandela , upon election, made it clear that he would only serve , as President, one term only and not seek re-election.

Being democratically elected, Nelson Mandela firmly believed that as President of South Africa, there is no reasons for him to be having a higher standard of living than those who voted for him, who put him in power which stands testament to his …show more content…

The Springbok was a symbol of the apartheid. Majority of the blacks of South Africa were seeking revenge after years of humiliation under the apartheid system while the whites were waiting to see what Nelson Mandela could do with regards to his vision of a rainbow nation. Nelson Mandela saw the rugby world cup final as a platform reconciliation and forgiveness. Despite having strong objections from the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela reached out to his former enemies and invited the captain of the Springbok, François Pienaar for tea at his office in Pretoria. During this talk with François Pienaar, Nelson Mandela asked for François Pienaar’s help to bring his team to unite the nation. This friendship with François Pienaar then brought together Nelson Mandela and the members of the South African Rugby Union, namingly former Springbok captain, Morne Du Plessis, the late coach, Kitch Christie and the soon-to-be chief executive of the union, Edward Griffiths. Edward Griffiths then came up with a slogan ‘ One Team, One country ‘ while Morne Du Plessis made the players learn the old song of black resistance, now the new national anthem, Nkosi Sikelele Afrika (God Bless Africa). The symbolic moment when Nelson Mandela donned on the baseball cap and green jersey of the Springbok, with a number 6 (François Pienaar’s jersey number) and walked onto the

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