THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

14 APRIL 1986 DESMOND TUTU IS ELECTED ARCHBISHOP

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND MPILO TUTU is one of our country’s well-known human rights activists and is revered for his efforts in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his contribution.

The Arch, as he’s affectionately known, was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp in the North West. He worked as a teacher until 1957 before attending St Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1960.

Tutu was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and inequality, the unfair treatment of people based on the colour of their skin and the separation and displacement of people under apartheid laws. He achieved international recognition when he became the first black person to be appointed as an Anglican dean (senior leader in the church) in Joburg.

He became Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986.

In November 1995, after the apartheid era, Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu as the chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This was set up by the government to, among other things, allow people to talk about their experiences under apartheid to help them deal with the country’s past.

Tutu has won a number of international awards for his work and has also written several books on human rights.