![]() Instead, he governed for the whole country, arguably preventing a civil war. Once Mandela was elected president in South Africa’s first free elections in 1994 he did not seek retribution, despite his brutal prison treatment. Mandela became the focal point for a global campaign against apartheid which eventually forced the South African government to change its mind. He endured long stints of solitary confinement, often going without sleeping or toilet facilities – treatment designed to reinforce Mandela’s sense of powerlessness. His resilience inspired the worldĪfter his arrest in 1962 Mandela was sentenced to life in prison and he was held on the remote Robben Island. Railway tracks, power lines and government buildings were all targeted and though the intention was never to kill, lives were lost. Now the ANC, and Mandela with it, agreed to attacks on the state. Initially its policies were non-violent, but this changed after state police killed 69 black activists in 1960. In 1952 Mandela was the deputy president of the African National Congress – a party determined to overthrow the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. It always seems impossible until it's done. His words rallied a nation behind the war effort and those speeches – delivered in his idiosyncratic, croaky bulldog style – are still famous today. It was once said of Churchill that he “mobilised the English language and sent it into battle”, such was the force and persuasive nature of his speeches. Ultimately Britain backed his utter determination to fight the Nazis despite the enormous sacrifice involved. But on one subject he was a true leader: he was one of the first to realise and highlight the dangers of Nazism and he refused to waver during the 1930s when many sought to appease Hitler’s Germany. His takes on votes for women, imperialism and Indian independence do not sit well in the modern world. He galvanised the opposition to fascismĬhurchill’s legacy and views have been much debated, both during his life and after his death. Even after the war he was in and out of office – losing the election in 1945 before returning as Prime Minster for a second time in 1951. ![]() ![]() It was his finest hour: as Prime Minister he doggedly led the nation to victory. After Gallipoli he fought at the front and in 1940 he was ready to serve again, as Britain was plunged into the Second World War. But he wasn’t to be deterred by set-backs. During the First World War, while head of the Navy, he oversaw a disastrous campaign against Turkey at Gallipoli in 1929 he lost his seat in parliament altogether. He never gave upĬhurchill’s political career was long, but it was also tumultuous. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. ![]()
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