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Photos: Nelson Mandela, 1918 - 2013

Nelson Mandela
Circa 1964: Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress (left) in discussion with C Andrews, a Cape Town teacher.
Three Lions/Getty Images

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Nelson Mandela was a master of forgiveness. South Africa's first black president spent nearly one-third of his life as a prisoner of apartheid, the system of white racist rule that he described as evil, yet he sought to win over its defeated guardians in a relatively peaceful transition of power that inspired the world.

As head of state, the ex-boxer, lawyer and inmate lunched with the prosecutor who argued successfully for his incarceration, sang the apartheid-era Afrikaans anthem at his inauguration and traveled hundreds of miles to have tea with the widow of Hendrik Verwoerd, the prime minister at the time he was sent to prison who was also the architect of white rule.

It was this generosity of spirit that made Mandela, who died on Thursday at the age of 95, a global symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation in a world often jarred by conflict and division.

• Read more about Mandela's life and legacy

Gallery
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Nelson Mandela
Former South African President Nelson Mandela reacts at the Mandela foundation, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday June 2, 2009, during a meeting with a group of American and South African students as part of a series of activities leading to Mandela Day on July 18th.
Theana Calitz-Bilt / AP
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Nelson Mandela
Circa 1964: Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress (left) in discussion with C Andrews, a Cape Town teacher.
Three Lions/Getty Images
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ANC supporters
ANC supporters give the thumb up as a prison van with anti-apartheid militants go to Johannesburg's courthouse, 28 December 1956. 152 anti-apartheid militants, including Nelson Mandela, were on trial in Johannesburg.
STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images