Nelson Mandela Elected President; End of Apartheid
April 27, 1994 · 20th Century
On April 27, 1994, South Africans of all races voted in the country's first fully democratic election. Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for 27 years for fighting apartheid, and his African National Congress won 62.7% of the vote. On May 10, Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first Black president in Pretoria. The apartheid system, instituted in 1948, had stripped Black South Africans of land, citizenship, and freedom for 46 years. International sanctions and internal resistance led President F.W. de Klerk to unban the ANC and release Mandela in February 1990, beginning four years of negotiations that ended the apartheid system.
Key Figures
Nelson MandelaF.W. de Klerk
Locations
Pretoria
Topics
apartheidAfrican National CongressSouth Africademocratizationreconciliation
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Both events in 1994 represented opposite outcomes of post-colonial African politics — South Africa's peaceful transition contrasted with Rwanda's catastrophic ethnic violence rooted in Belgian colonial divisions Rwandan Genocide: 800,000 Killed in 100 Days
The wave of African independence in 1960 isolated South Africa's apartheid regime internationally, building the diplomatic pressure that contributed to Mandela's release and 1994 election Year of Africa: 17 Nations Gain Independence in 1960
The Time Detectives® · Cadet Mission
Investigate This Event
Place it on the timeline. Earn points. Master the connections.
New to The Time Detectives?
Learn what it is →