South African President Nelson Mandela, born on July 18, 1918, spent nearly three decades in prison during his struggle against apartheid, before he was released on Feb. 11, 1990. On Dec. 5, 2013, Mandela died at the age of 95. Take a look back at the international icon's life and career.
In his youth, in addition to being an activist against apartheid, Nelson Mandela was a boxer. Here, Mandela is seen in the 1950s.
Crowds cheer as a police van brings prisoners to the Drill Hall in Johannesburg, South Africa on Dec. 31, 1956, for the start of the “Treason Trial.” Mandela, aboard the bus, was questioned about being a Communist during the trial, something he denied. He was largely against societal power structures.
Mandela, a proud leader of the South African National Congress (ANC) leader at the time, married Winnie Madikizela in 1958. They remained married until 1992, two years after his release from prison, and had two daughters together: Zindzi and Zenani.
Their firstborn daughter, Zindzi, was born on Dec. 23, 1960; here, the trio are seen at their home in Orlando West, Soweto in 1961.
Nelson Mandela, then 42, is seen in 1961. He would be arrested the following year and accused of violence and sabotage, among other crimes in 1963 during the Rivonia Trial. Mandela would be jailed for the next 27 years.
Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia on June 16, 1964. Here, Mandela and the seven other men sentenced to life in prison raise their fists from a prison car on their way out of the Palace of Justice.
Nelson Mandela is honored at his 70th birthday in Johannesburg on June 18, 1988.
In an iconic photo dating back to Feb. 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie raise their fists in the air as they salute cheering crowds following Mandela’s release from the Victor Verster prison. The anti-apartheid icon spent 27 years in jail before being released.
The crowd cheers as anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela exits from Victor Verster prison upon his release on Feb. 11, 1990.
Flags are waved and the crowd cheers as anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela exits from Victor Verster prison upon his release on Feb. 11, 1990.
South African anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela smiles at the United Nations in New York on June 22, 1990.
A Nelson Mandela tickertape parade was held in New York City on June 21, 1990, the year of his release.
Nelson Mandela, dressed in a Yankee cap and jacket, waves to a crowd at Yankee Stadium in 1990.
President of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela raises a clenched fist to supporters while arriving at a rally ahead of the 1994 general election.
Nelson Mandela meets a boy in Boskop on Jan. 31, 1994 as he is on the campaign trail.
President Nelson Mandela casts his vote in Oshlange during South Africa’s first democratic and all-race general elections on April 27, 1994.
Michael Jackson sings a special rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Nelson Mandela during a private birthday bash at the former president’s Johannesburg home on July 18, 1996.
South African President Nelson Mandela escorts Princess Diana during her visit in Cape Town on March 17, 1997.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela seperated in 1996; he went on to marry Graca Machel, a politician and the former first lady of Mozambique. Here, Mandela and his bride Graca Machel greet friends and family after the first traditional phase of a two-part wedding in Pretoria and Johannesburg on July 18, 1998.
President Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela peer through the bars of prison cell No. 5, the cramped gray cell where Mandela was jailed for 18 years in his struggle against apartheid.
President Bill Clinton and former South African President Nelson Mandela leave the White House after a meeting in the Oval Office in 2000.
Cuban president Fidel Castro expresses his joy in meeting former South African president Nelson Mandela at Mandela’s office in Johannesburg on September 2, 2001.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat hold hands as they address a news conference in Johannesburg on Aug. 3, 2000.
President Bush has a chat with Nelson Mandela in the Rose Garden on Nov. 12, 2001.
U.S. talk show personality Oprah Winfrey poses with former South African President Nelson Mandela during the Agenda for Earth Turning Ceremony for The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa on December 6, 2002.
South African President Nelson Mandela poses with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. President Bill Clinton after attending a gala night to mark the centenary of the Rhodes Trust and the establishment of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation on July 2, 2003.
Nelson Mandela, Beyonce Knowles and singer Annie Lennox attend a press conference for “46664 – Give One Minute of Your Life to AIDS” on November 28, 2003 on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela smiles after receiving an honorary degree from Amherst College at St. Bartholomew Church on May 12, 2005 in New York City.
Happy Birthday! Nelson Mandela blows out candles on a cake in 2008 as he celebrates his 90th birthday.
Nelson Mandela smiles during a celebration for the 20th year of the icon’s freedom from apartheid prison on Feb. 11, 2010.
Michelle Obama brings along daughters Malia (l.) and Sasha to Nelson Mandela’s home in Johannesburg on June 21, 2011.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with former South African President Nelson Mandela at his home in Qunu, South Africa on Aug. 6, 2012.
