Freedom for Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, the leading anti-apartheid campaigner and South Africa's first black president, was freed from prison in South Africa on the 11th February 1990 after 27 years in captivity. Mandela, who is shown here with his wife Winnie shortly after he stepped out of Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, was released after South African President FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC (African National Congress). At the time of his release Mandela was deputy president of the ANC. Mandela became president of the ANC in 1991 and later president of South Africa in 1994. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with FW de Klerk in 1993 for their efforts to transform South African society.