Nelson MandelaPrint Page

The Nelson Mandela bust was commissioned as a permanent tribute to the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918 –2013) was a South African politician and activist. On April 27, 1994, he was made the first President of South Africa elected in a fully represeneted democrativ election. He was also the first black President of his country, South Africa. Mandela was born in Mvezo, South Africa to a Thembu royal family.

His government focused on throwing out the legacy of apartheid by ending racism, poverty, inequality, and on improving racial understanding in South Africa. Politically a believer in socialism, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997 and adopted new Constitution of South African in 1996 that prohibits all discrimination, based on language, religion. handicap and sexual orientation, not only on racism. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

Mandela received more than 250 honors, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the Us Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"). Mandela was described as a hero, and his actions gave thousands of people hope.

Mandela was sick for several years during his retirement. He was hospitalized in late summer of 2013 from a continuous lung infection. Mandela died on 5 December 2013 in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg from a respiratory tract infection.He was 95 years old.

Westpac CEO Gail Kelly has helped unveil a bust of Nelson Mandela and paid tribute to his inspiring legacy and leadership as part of the 2013 Wallace Wurth Lecture. 

The Mandela bust was unveiled before a packed Clancy auditorium by Mrs Kelly, Her Excellency Ms Koleka Mqulwana, the South African High Commissioner to Australia, and UNSW Vice-Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer.

Part of an ongoing UNSW campus project to honour the world’s most inspiring leaders, the Mandela bust was created by South African sculptor Maureen Quin. It will have its home on the Library Lawn alongside a bust of Mahatma Gandhi.

Professor Hilmer said the University wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the legacy of the man known as Madiba, or “Father” by his people. “There’s a special class of leader, a global leader, whose influence extends beyond a nation,” he said. Such a leader is Nelson Mandela. His courage and his leadership of the South African nation in the face of suffering and extreme hardship have been an inspiration around the world.” 

Ms Mqulwana thanked the University for commissioning the bust. “We are thankful that you have decided to take Madiba as one of your own … we are very happy not only because he is South African but because he is the son of Africa who has made his impact not only in Africa but in the world.”
UNSW Newsroom, 30 August 2013.

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