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Tributes to Nelson Mandela

9 December 2013

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

The House of Commons and House of Lords paid tribute to Nelson Mandela on Monday 9 December.

Mr Mandela led the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, spending 27 years in prison before his release in 1990.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993 before being elected his country’s first black president in 1994. Mr Mandela died on Thursday 5 December 2013.

Tributes in the House of Commons

Tributes in the House of Lords

Related information

Westminster Hall address

Nelson Mandela addressed both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall on 11 July 1996.

To note the historic importance of the speech, a brass plaque was installed on the steps of Westminster Hall as a permanent reminder of the occasion.

A photo of Nelson Mandela is on display in the Royal Gallery and there will also be a photo in the atrium of Portcullis House as a visual tribute.

In April 2007, a statue of Mr Mandela was unveiled in Parliament Square by the then prime minister Gordon Brown MP. Mr Mandela attended the ceremony.

Further information

Video: Address of President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa to the Joint Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom (Parliamentary Copyright).