Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 in a small village in South Africa. He was a member of the Thembu royal family. After he finished school, he decided to study law. He and his friend Oliver Tambo started working together. They gave advice to people about the law. All of their clients were black South Africans and many of them didn't have much money so Mandela and Tambo gave them free advice.
Around this time, Mandela became interested in politics. In South Africa at that time, black people didn't have the same rights as white people. It was impossible for black South Africans to get a good job and they couldn't vote. Mandela thought this was wrong and so he started to campaign for a better life for black South Africans. He believed in peaceful politics. However, the police arrested him and in 1964, sent him to prison for life.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison. He became a hero for black people in South Africa. People all over the world campaigned to get him out of prison. In 1990, the South African President, FW de Klerk, finally agreed to set Mandela free.
After that, Mandela agreed to work with de Klerk to change the political system. In December 1993, they received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994, Mandela became the country's first black president. He was President of South Africa for five years.
In 1998, Mandela got married for the third time to Graça Machel, a politician from Mozambique. Her job is to campaign for the rights of women and children around the world. Mandela retired in 2004, aged 85. His autobiography is called Long Walk to Freedom.