Madiba is 90. « Earthling Blues

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Madiba is 90.

18 July 2008 by earthlingblues

Nelson Mandela celebrates his 90th birthday today, surrounded by family and friends and cheered by well-wishers worldwide. The father of his country, who spent 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Friday is also the tenth anniversary of his marriage to Graça Simbine Machel, who was formerly the widow of Mozambican President Sambora Machel. (Ms. Machel is the only woman to have been married to the presidents of two different nations.)

If that’s not enough, Friday is also the anniversary of the first meeting of The Elders, a group of elder statesmen and activists who work for peace and human rights. The group was announced last year on Mandela’s 89th birthday, and now includes Mandela; Machel; former Archbishop Desmond Tutu; former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; Ela Bhatt, the founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association; Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian diplomat; former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland; former Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso; former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; former Irish President Mary Robinson; and Bangladeshi economist and retired banker Muhammad Yunus. The group also honors Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in Burma for much of the last twenty years, as one of its own.

Mandela is celebrating his birthday at his home in Qunu, and wryly remarked on the occasion, “We are honored that you wish to celebrate the birthday of a retired old man, who no longer has power or influence.” His 34-year-old grandson, Thembus (Chief) Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, walked 25 kilometers (15 miles) on a symbolic journey to bring three cattle for his grandfather’s birthday feast. Mandela’s father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa (1880-1928), had been deposed as Thembus of Mzevo and moved his family to Qunu, but the title was restored to the family last year, when Mandela’s grandson was inaugurated as Thembus. The party will continue tomorrow.

View a clip from Mandela’s birthday speech here: