Nelson mandela a life in pictures

BOY LEADER

Born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela on July 18, 1918 (he was nicknamed "Nelson" by a teacher), Mandela worked in his parents' rural village of Qunu, South Africa, tilling fields and herding cattle with elders from the local Tembu tribe.

Nelson mandela a life in pictures

After his father died in 1930, the then-12-year-old was chosen as a future leader of the tribe because of his intelligence – life, however, had other plans.

MAN OF ACTION

Mandela's activism started early; in 1940 he was expelled from the University of Fort Hare after organizing a strike to protest limitations placed on the student council.

He headed to Johannesburg, where he earned a job at a legal firm, started working on his law degree and met and married his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase, with whom he had four children.

A SECOND MARRIAGE

During his time in Johannesburg, Mandela met 20-year-old social worker Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela.

"I cannot say for certain