英語(yǔ)名人堂：納爾遜·羅利赫拉赫拉·曼德拉

納爾遜·羅利赫拉赫拉·曼德拉(Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela，1918.7.18~2013.12.5)出生于南非特蘭斯凱，先后獲南非大學(xué)文學(xué)士和威特沃特斯蘭德大學(xué)律師資格。曾任非國(guó)大青年聯(lián)盟全國(guó)書記、主席。于1994年至1999年間任南非總統(tǒng)，是首位黑人總統(tǒng)，被尊稱為南非國(guó)父。

在任職總統(tǒng)前，曼德拉是積極的反種族隔離人士，同時(shí)也是非洲國(guó)民大會(huì)的武裝組織民族之矛的領(lǐng)袖。當(dāng)他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)反種族隔離運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)，南非法院以密謀推翻政府等罪名將他定罪。依據(jù)判決，曼德拉在牢中服刑了27年。1990年出獄后，轉(zhuǎn)而支持調(diào)解與協(xié)商，并在推動(dòng)多元族群民主的過渡期挺身領(lǐng)導(dǎo)南非。自種族隔離制度終結(jié)以來，曼德拉受到了來自各界的贊許，包括從前的反對(duì)者。

曼德拉在40年來獲得了超過一百項(xiàng)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，其中最顯著的便是1993年的諾貝爾和平獎(jiǎng)。2004年，其被選為最偉大的南非人。[1-2]

Nelson Mandela was one of the most loved and respected people in the world. For countless reasons he was and remains a huge hero. He was a person from whom we can all learn many lessons. He experienced many things in his nine decades, from being tortured to becoming president of the country he loved. After retiring, he continued to travel the world, helping people and raising awareness of global issues.

Nelson was born in 1918 into a South Africa that was divided along black and white racial lines. He said he had a wonderful childhood and was a keen runner and boxer. He learnt more of the terrible apartheid system when he studied to become a lawyer. This led to his campaigning for equal rights and his involvement in the African National Congress (ANC), which he later became the leader of.

The South African government did its best to keep Mandela from spreading his message of equality for blacks and racial unity. It put him in prison for 27 years. He became famous around the world as an icon of the struggle for freedom in South Africa. Rock stars, actors, politicians and ordinary people campaigned to free him and end apartheid. He was released from prison in 1990 and the world rejoiced.

Nelson Mandela's call for racial reconciliation won him the hearts of millions. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1993, and over 250 more awards. A year later, he became his country's first ever black president and served in office until 1999. In his retirement, he continued to tirelessly campaign for many global causes until old age slowed him down. He died on the 5th of December, 2013, aged 95.