Historic moments
In 1993, Mandela and De Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”. The following year, Mandela was elected the first black president of South Africa. These were the first elections in which black people in South Africa were allowed to vote, and so it was also the first time Mandela voted. In 1995, South Africa won the Rugby World Cup and Mandela was chosen to present the trophy to the team’s white captain, Francois Pienaar. The mostly white crowd in the stadium shouted, “Nelson, Nelson, Nelson!” in support of their president. Mandela retired from politics in 1999 but campaigned for democracy, education and equal rights, until he died in 2013, aged 95.