Quote

It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people.

Nelson Mandela

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Nelson Mandela
Age: 95 †
Born: 1918
Born: July 18
Died: 2013
Died: December 5
Autobiographer
Former President Of South Africa
Lawyer
Political Activist
Political Prisoner
Politician
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Mandela
Prisoner 46664
Madiba
Make
People
Generals
Masses
Kings
Mass
History

More quotes by Nelson Mandela

Image
Greece is the mother of democracy and South Africa is its youngest daughter
Nelson Mandela
Image
I have always admired men and women who used their talents to serve the community, and who were highly respected and admired for their efforts and sacrifices, even though they held no office whatsoever in government or society.
Nelson Mandela
Image
As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.
Nelson Mandela
Image
It is also the fate of leadership to be misunderstood. It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism, to conduct discussions as if he or she is a schoolmaster talking to less informed and inexperienced learners.
Nelson Mandela
Image
If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Abject poverty is demeaning, is an assault on the dignity of those that suffer it. In the end it demeans us all. It makes the freedom of all of us less meaningful.
Nelson Mandela
Image
What he means by this is that instead of saying you'll try, you need to do. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela
Image
The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.
Nelson Mandela
Image
The New World Order that is in the making must focus on the creation of a world of democracy, peace and prosperity for all.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Young people are capable, when aroused, of bringing down the towers of oppression and raising the banners of freedom.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Individuals get caught up in the policy of their country. In prison, for instance, a warden or officer is not promoted if he doesn't follow the policy of the government - though he himself does not believe in that policy.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.
Nelson Mandela
Image
If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.
Nelson Mandela
Image
It is important to not be hostile to what a greater part of society has embraced, whether as Christians, Hindus or Muslims. It is important to respect that because whether you believe or not in the existence of a superior being, humanity does believe in that.
Nelson Mandela
Image
We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips.
Nelson Mandela
Image
If you sit down and talk to a person, it's easy to convince him that apartheid can never save a country and will lead to the slaughtering of innocent people - including his own people.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.
Nelson Mandela
Image
We must also know that even before liberation in 1994 there [in South Africa] were people with resources who tried to share with those who were deprived.
Nelson Mandela
Image
The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices - submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom
Nelson Mandela