Nelson Mandela, A great leader of our Time - Term Paper Example

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela is one such leader who has captivated the imagination of the entire world, transcending geographical and political boundaries. He is the recipient of numerous, richly deserved awards and accolades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the 1988 United Nations’ Human Rights Award, the 1998 US Congressional Gold Medal , the 2002 US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the British Order of Merit. A commemorative stamp in Mandela’s honor was issued by the USSR in 1998.

Zimbabwe declared ‘Mandela Day’ as a national holiday in 1990, and his statue was erected in London’s Parliament Square in 2007(Biography.com, n.d.). Nelson Mandela personifies exemplary leadership. Mandela himself argues that "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances." (Brink, 1998, p.1). A study of his life and works gives us manifold insights into the workings and personality of this great leader. The mark of a leader is evident in every stage of Mandela’s life: as a young man, during his long incarceration, and as a senior citizen of the world.

Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July, 1918, at Mvezo. In 1927, after the death of his father, Nonqaphi Nosekeni, principal advisor to the Thembu Chief, Jongintaba Dalindyebo, Mandela was adopted into the Xhosa chieftain’s family. He was a close observer of the tribal meetings under the chieftain, where every man was free to express his opinion on perfect terms of equality. Mandela admits that “My later notions of leadership were profoundly influenced by observing the regent and his court” (1994, Part One).

Mandela, by his own admission, adopted the chieftains’ axiom for leadership, “a leader, he said, 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” (Mandela, 1994, Part One). He developed the habit of giving everyone a patient hearing before expressing his own stand and always strived for consensus. Mandela remained a staunch supporter of the institution of traditional tribal chiefs as an integral part of African culture.

In this context, it can be argued that Mandela himself was ‘a great man,’ born with innate traits of a leader. Mandela’s boyhood was spent cattle-herding. At the local mission school, he was named ‘Nelson.’ He joined the protest movement against apartheid as an undergraduate at the University College of Fort Hare. He was elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC) in his second year. Endorsing the vote of the majority of the students to boycott, in their agitation for better food and more student representative power, Mandela resigned his position.

The University expelled Mandela. (Brink, 1998, p. 2). Here, we see the first evidence of his leadership, and ability to generate support and cooperation from his followers. He completed his B.A. through correspondence, and enrolled for his LLB. In 1952, he founded the law firm Mandela and Tambo, providing free and low-cost legal counsel to unrepresented blacks, who acknowledged his transformational leadership. His full-fledged political career commenced in 1943, when he joined the African National Congress (ANC).

In 1944, Mandela, showing the initiative of a leader, co-founded the