JOHANNESBURG (AP):
South Africa's president says Nelson Mandela has died at age 95.
Jacob Zuma made the announcement at a news conference today, saying "we've lost our greatest son."
Mandela became one of the world's most beloved statesmen and a colossus of the 20th century when he emerged from 27 years in prison to negotiate an end to white minority rule in South Africa.
His death closed the final chapter in South Africa's struggle to cast off apartheid, leaving the world with indelible memories of a man of astonishing grace and good humor. Rock concerts celebrated his birthday.
Hollywood stars glorified him on screen.
And his regal bearing, graying hair and raspy voice made him instantly recognisable across the globe.
As South Africa's first black president, the ex-boxer, lawyer and prisoner No. 46664 paved the way to racial reconciliation with well-chosen gestures of forgiveness.
He lunched with the prosecutor who sent him to jail, sang the apartheid-era Afrikaans anthem at his inauguration, and traveled hundreds of miles to have tea with the widow of Hendrik Verwoerd, the prime minister at the time he was imprisoned.
MANDELA FACTS:
Presidential term: May 10, 1994-June 14, 1999
Name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Birth date: July 18, 1918
Age: 95
Place of Birth: Mvezo, South Africa
Children: Makaziwe Mandela, Zindziswa Mandela, Makgatho Mandela, Zenani Mandela, Madiba Thembekile Mandela
Spouse: Graça Machel: 1998-present, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela : 1958–1996, Evelyn Mase: 1944–1958
Education: University of South Africa (1943), Healdtown Comprehensive School, University of the Witwatersrand, University of London International Programmes, University of London, University of Fort Hare
Awards: Mandela has received more than 150 awards notebly Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress and its armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison – Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison – on convictions for crimes that included sabotage committed while he spearheaded the struggle against apartheid.