The anti-apartheid campaigner who became the first black president of South Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize, inspired millions of students across the world.
NUS worked with the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) from the 1960s, supporting the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) and developing links with the South African Students’ Organisation and the African National Congress (ANC). NUS gave its support to the March for Freedom - Sanctions Now demonstration in March 1986 and supported economic boycotts with the AAM.
As part of the campaign to secure his release, Nelson Mandela was elected honorary president of NUS (for the first time in 1969) and NUS’ headquarters in Holloway Road was renamed Nelson Mandela House, with a plaque unveiled by Princess Thumbumuzi Dlamini–Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s daughter.
Toni Pearce, NUS President said: “For decades, Nelson Mandela has been an icon and role model to the student movement.
“So long as we keep Mandela’s memory and legacy alive, his incredible influence and his achievements will never be forgotten. We mourn his loss today.
“Students across the UK formed a pivotal part of the anti-apartheid movement and in supporting Mandela in his long walk to freedom.
"We should never forget those who stood by and to their eternal shame, labelled him a terrorist. Mandela’s humility and humanity in the face of that adversity and his refusal to be consumed by bitterness taught a truly humbling lesson to the world.
“More than forty years ago, NUS conference declared its complete opposition to the racialist regimes in South Africa, and that legacy proudly endures in the reaffirmation of our continuing commitment to tackling racism in all its forms. Today we salute the greatest champion of anti-racism the world has known.”