The quotations of

Nelson Mandela

President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist

1918–2013

26 quotes, most often on Freedom, Race and Hope.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
First court statement (1962)
- Freedom
Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.
Refusing to bargain for freedom after 21 years in prison, as quoted in TIME (25 February 1985)
- Freedom
Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
Speech at the Chief Albert Luthuli Centenary celebrations, KwaDukuza, South Africa (25 April 1998)
- Freedom
- Leadership
There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
- Freedom
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black.
Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
- Freedom
- Race
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.
Our March to Freedom is Irreversible (1990)
- Fear
- Freedom
I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Statement from the dock at the Rivonia Trial, Pretoria (20 April 1964)
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign!
Inaugural address, Pretoria (10 May 1994)
- Freedom

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