RIP Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison before emerging to lead South Africa out of apartheid, has died at age 95.

The former president battled health issues in recent months, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations.

With advancing age and bouts of illness, Mandela retreated to a quiet life at his boyhood home in the nation’s Eastern Cape Province, where he said he was most at peace.

Despite rare public appearances, he held a special place in the nation’s consciousness.

A hero to blacks and whites

In a nation healing from the scars of apartheid, Mandela became a moral compass.

Look back at Mandela’s early years 1990: Mandela released from prison 1994: Mandela takes oath of office

His defiance of white minority rule and incarceration for fighting against segregation focused the world’s attention on apartheid, the legalized racial segregation enforced by the South African government until 1994.

In his lifetime, he was a man of complexities. He went from a militant freedom fighter, to a prisoner, to a unifying figure, to an elder statesman.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.