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Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid trailblazer and former president of South Africa, was born on July 18, 1918. Mandela, who died on Dec. 5, 2013, is considered one of the world’s greatest leaders.
After 27 years of imprisonment under South Africa’s apartheid government, Mandela became the country’s first black president in its first multi-racial elections in 1994. He championed peace, forgiveness and racial unity. He served a five-year term through 1999 and then devoted himself to charity work.
Click through the slides to read some of his most inspirational quotes.