He spent 27 years in prison. He emerged without bitterness.

Nelson Mandela Walks Free After 27 Years

The world watches as apartheid's most famous prisoner is released

Nelson Mandela walked out of prison in 1990 after 27 years, becoming a global symbol of reconciliation, and went on to lead South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.

On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison near Cape Town — a free man for the first time in 27 years. He was 71 years old. The television cameras broadcast the moment to a billion viewers worldwide.

Mandela had been imprisoned since 1964, sentenced to life at the Rivonia Trial for his role in the African National Congress's armed resistance to apartheid. On Robben Island, where he spent 18 of his 27 years, he broke rocks in a limestone quarry that damaged his eyesight permanently. Yet he emerged not bitter but transformed into something larger than himself — a symbol of reconciliation over vengeance.

F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid president, had made the decision to release Mandela as part of a negotiated transition to democracy. Both men knew the risks: South Africa teetered on the brink of civil war, with right-wing white extremists and impatient Black militants both capable of derailing negotiations.

The miracle was that it worked. In 1994, Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president. His Truth and Reconciliation Commission, rather than pursue prosecution of apartheid's criminals, created a process of public testimony…

💡 In prison, Mandela secretly pursued a law degree through the University of London External Programme — studying by candlelight after guards confiscated reading materials.