Death of a great leader and a peacemaker

Nelson Mandela is remembered as master peacemaker. He was a master of forgiveness. He is not a saint, but a great human being.

South Africa's first black president spent nearly a one third of his life as a prisoner of apartheid, yet he sought to win over its defeated guardians in a relatively peaceful transition of power that inspired the world.

This spirit made Mandela, who died on the 5th of December 2013 at the age of 95, a global symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation in a world often jarred by conflict and division.