Current South African President Jacob Zuma gave the somber news of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's passing to the nation in a televised address; "He is now resting, he is now at peace. Our nation has lost its greatest son, our people have lost a father. Although we know this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss, " Zuma said.

Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

The BBC goes on to say that he had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.

He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004.