Nelson Mandela, the driving force behind the drive to end apartheid in South Africa and the former president of the Republic has died. Mandela had been poor health for several months due to a lung infection. He was 95 years old.
Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Arrested in 1962 and charged with sabotague and conspiracy, Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner before his release in 1990. Most of his time in prison was spent on Robbins Island.
Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected president of South Africa in 1994. He served as president until 1999. Mandela received honorary degrees from several American colleges and universities including Harvard University, Michigan State University, Brown University, and Clark Atlanta University.
On May 12, 2005, the editors of JBHE were privileged to attend the awarding of an honorary doctorate by Amherst College to Nelson Mandela at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York City.
