Nelson Mandela's leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nelson Mandela's leadership - Essay Example According to Connor and Mackenzie-Smith (2003: 59), â€Å"leadership is an active interaction with the world and involves bringing into being new possibilities from within real constraints†. Mandela’s leadership was based on his philosophy and way of thinking. His cause and persuasive methods were able to win him many followers and ultimately, adversaries also became his friends. In his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela states that â€Å"South Africa will be free only after it achieves the freedom to be free†. He believed that by achieving physical freedom alone, liberty was not possible. It was also essential to support the freedom of others, and live the right life which gives self-respect and confidence (Mandela, 1994: 685). An outline of Nelson Mandela’s life story: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s father was a Xhosa chief of a small village near the capital Transkei in South Africa, where he was born in 1918. Africans living in their own country were discriminated against by the white minority rulers. As a leader of the African resistance that struggled for freedom from apartheid, Mandela was imprisoned for several years. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against apartheid and was elected as the first black president of South Africa (Mandela, 1994). Nelson Mandela set up law practice in Johannesburg in 1952. Earlier, in 1944, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) which included non-Africans. They tried for resolution in the conflict by a peaceful struggle against aparthed, using non-violent means. The state responded with violence against the Africans. Mandela was elected president of the African National Congress in 1951 and worked for the elimination of discriminatory laws. He led the ANC resistance movement in 1951-1952, was banned and jailed several times (Mandela, 1994). From 1961, the non-violent resistance was given up for violent methods. Mandela was jailed for five years because he illegally