Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013) became South Africa’s first Black president in 1994, in the country’s first fully democratic election. His election came after a long struggle against the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa, in which Mandela played a key role and during which he was imprisoned for 27 years.

In December 1999, Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça Machel visited Seattle a few months after Mandela left office as president of South Africa. Their visit was intended to raise money for their charitable organizations. In addition to meeting with prominent philanthropists, Mandela and Machel addressed students at Seattle University, spoke at a world health conference at the University of Washington, attended a concert at Benaroya Hall (part of which Mandela conducted), and visited the Central Area and Madrona Elementary School to meet members of the community. They also thanked anti-apartheid activists in Seattle for their support and recognized Seattle for being one of the first US cities to boycott South African products in protest.

Here, Nelson Mandela laughs with 12-year-old Dennis Leclech during his visit to the Central Area, where Mandela spoke with business owners and community members, and visited Madrona Elementary School.

Caption information source: “Mandela: A dedication to children’s issues, too,” by Ruth Schubert, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 9, 1999, page A13.