Nelson Mandela has died aged 95 after a long fight against illness.
Born in 1918 into the Xhosa clan he was known to South Africans by his clan name, 'Madiba', or 'Tata', which means 'father'.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, most famously on Robben Island, where he contracted tuberculosis which was to weaken his lungs until the end of his life.
His experiences of incarceration and subsequent release were documented in his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom.
Nelson Mandela was voted in as the first black president of South Africa in the first fully representative, multiracial election in 1994.
He held the post until his retirement in 1999 and was known for his work abolishing the apartheid movement in South Africa.
He served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997 and was internationally known and revered as a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Read the story of Mandela's tempestuous life, filled with hardship and struggle and crowned by a singular triumph, in The Telegraph's seven-part obituary.
1. Nelson Mandela obituary: one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century
2. Nelson Mandela obituary: stirring up trouble
3. Nelson Mandela obituary: domestic and political strife
4. Nelson Mandela obituary: a marked man
5. Nelson Mandela obituary: imprisoned on Robben Island
6. Nelson Mandela obituary: guiding South Africa from apartheid to democracy
7. Nelson Mandela obituary: truth and reconciliation
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