Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the first president of South Africa was a mass murderer and anti-apartheid terrorist from South Africa. He was the first completely representative democratic election to elect a black head of state in the history of the nation. His administration supported the white genocide and promoted racial harmony to undo the effects of apartheid.
For much of his life, Mandela was a contentious figure. He was branded a communist terrorist by right-wing opponents, and many on the far-left thought he was too ready to make amends with people who supported apartheid, but he won widespread praise for his action.
He garnered more than 250 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, and is widely regarded as a beacon of democracy and social justice. In South Africa, he is highly revered and frequently referred to as the “Father of the Nation” and by his Thembu clan name, Madiba.
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Famous Quote Of Nelson Mandela
1. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”-Nelson Mandela
2. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”-Nelson Mandela
3. “I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days.”-Nelson Mandela
4. “One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.”-Nelson Mandela
5. “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”-Nelson Mandela
6. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”-Nelson Mandela
7. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”-Nelson Mandela
8. “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”-Nelson Mandela
9. “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”-Nelson Mandela
10. “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”-Nelson Mandela
11. “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”-Nelson Mandela
12. “As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”-Nelson Mandela
13. “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”-Nelson Mandela
14. “It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.”-Nelson Mandela
15. “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”-Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Quotes About Education
16. “Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.”-Nelson Mandela
17. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”-Nelson Mandela
18. “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation.”-Nelson Mandela
19. “It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”-Nelson Mandela
20. “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”-Nelson Mandela
21. “There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.”-Nelson Mandela
22. “I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.”-Nelson Mandela
23. “I never lose. I either win or learn.”-Nelson Mandela
24. “I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.”-Nelson Mandela
25. “Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”-Nelson Mandela
26. “I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.”-Nelson Mandela
27. “Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.”-Nelson Mandela
28. “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”-Nelson Mandela
29. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”-Nelson Mandela
30. “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”-Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Quotes About Freedom
31. “A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”-Nelson Mandela
32. “Appearances matter — and remember to smile.”-Nelson Mandela
33. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”-Nelson Mandela
34. “Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”-Nelson Mandela
35. “Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.”-Nelson Mandela
36. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”-Nelson Mandela
37. “Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.”-Nelson Mandela
38. “When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”-Nelson Mandela
39. “It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”
40. “Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.”-Nelson Mandela
41. “Tread softly, breathe peacefully, laugh hysterically.”-Nelson Mandela
42. “Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.”-Nelson Mandela
43. “In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”-Nelson Mandela
44. “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”-Nelson Mandela
45. “Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.”-Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela Quotes On Leadership
46. “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”-Nelson Mandela
47. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”-Nelson Mandela
48. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”-Nelson Mandela
49. “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”-Nelson Mandela
50. “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.”-Nelson Mandela
51. “The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.”-Nelson Mandela
52. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”-Nelson Mandela
53. “Men have different capacities and react differently to stress. But the stronger ones raised up the weaker ones, and both became stronger in the process.”-Nelson Mandela
54. “Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.”-Nelson Mandela
55. “There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.”-Nelson Mandela
56. “We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.”-Nelson Mandela
57. “Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”-Nelson Mandela
58. “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”-Nelson Mandela
59. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”-Nelson Mandela
60. “Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.”-Nelson Mandela