Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 in South Africa. He became involved in activism against apartheid and fought for racial equality. He was imprisoned for 27 years for sabotage but was released in 1990. Mandela then became president of the African National Congress and was elected as South Africa's first black president in 1994, overseeing the end of apartheid. As a leader, he was charismatic, inspirational, and effective at managing power and people to achieve his goals of democracy and equality through non-violent means.