Nelson Mandela collected yet another laurel on Monday, this time from an elite forum of fellow former world leaders.
The Club of Madrid presented Mandela, 90, with its inaugural Democratic Leadership Prize during a private ceremony at the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
Mandela is one of the club’s 72 members from 51 nations.
On hand at the ceremony were three other club members: former presidents Ketumile Masire, Ricardo Lagos and Cassam Uteem of Botswana, Chile and Mauritius, and former French prime minister Lionel Jospin.
”President Mandela has inspired millions of people worldwide to continue to struggle for equality and democracy that delivers — a democracy based on the notion that shared societies are not just necessary, but possible,” said Lagos, the club’s president.
The Club of Madrid has just finished a 10-day mission in Mozambique and South Africa to take stock of the state of democracy in both countries.
Mandela has amassed about 100 honours over the years — most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, which he shared with former South African president FW de Klerk. — Sapa-AFP