Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was born in 1918 and spent 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid and racial segregation. After his release in 1990, he worked to dismantle apartheid and establish a democratic, non-racial government in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and became South Africa's first black President after the country's first multi-racial elections in 1994. Mandela spent his life fighting against racism and inequality in South Africa.