Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and was subsequently imprisoned for 27 years for his resistance to the regime. While incarcerated, Mandela's stature grew, and he became the symbolic leader of the ANC. He repeatedly refused offers of amnesty in return for renunciation of the ANC's armed struggle. Mandela was also offered freedom if he would publicly recognize the apartheid regime's four black home lands and settle in one, the Transkei; he refused the deal. He was released from prison on 11 February 1990.

As part of the dismantling of the apartheid regime, Mandela agreed to suspend the armed resistance against Pretoria. A year later, he was elected president of the ANC at the organization's first open meeting in South Africa since it was banned in 1960. Mandela worked with South African president F. W. de Klerk to create a transitional national government that would draft a new constitution and oversee the country's first post-apartheid elections. In 1994, Mandela was elected president of South Africa and the ANC gained a majority of seats in the parliament.

Once in office, Mandela criticized the administration of President William J. Clinton for not providing more economic aid to South Africa during its transition from apartheid (Washington provided $200 million per year over a three-year period). He was also a frequent critic of U.S. military action, but denounced the United States for not taking more action to end the Rwandan genocide. Washington unsuccessfully urged Mandela to adopt more progressive policies toward the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Mandela played a major role in improving relations between the United States and Libya. He forged close relations with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi because of Libya's support for the ANC during the apartheid era. In 1994, Mandela offered South Africa as a neutral venue to try two suspects in Libyan custody for their role in the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. The offer was initially rejected by British prime minister John Major, but in 1997 Mandela was able to convince Gaddafi to turn the two suspects over for trial at The Hague and to pay reparations to the families of the victims of the attack. The resolution of the crisis helped pave the way for normalized relations between Libya and the West.

After he left office, Mandela continued to be a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy, especially the 2003 Iraq War, condemning the administration of President George W. Bush for not gaining United Nations support prior to military action. In 2004, the former president announced his formal retirement from public life.

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