Nelson Mandela death: World reaction

People around the world have been reacting to the news that South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, aged 95.

World leaders...

South African President Jacob Zuma announced Nelson Mandela's death, saying South Africa had lost "its greatest son" and calling on South Africans to conduct themselves with the "dignity and respect" that Mr Mandela personified.


US President Barack Obama spoke shortly afterwards. "We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," he said."Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss," he said.

"Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings and countries can change for the better."

French President Francois Hollande said Mr Mandela's message would "continue to inspire fighters for freedom, and to give confidence to peoples in the defence of just causes and universal rights".






Germany's Angela Merkel said Mr Mandela's "political legacy of non-violence and the condemnation of all forms of racism" would continue to inspire.

Mr Mandela was an "inspiration to the oppressed peoples all over the world" and had made "unparalleled personal sacrifices", said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff said Mr Mandela would "guide all those who fight for social justice and for peace in the world", and India's Manmohan Singh said: "A giant among men has passed away."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. He was a true Gandhian. His life and work will remain a source of eternal inspiration for generations to come.''

For UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mr Mandela "was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration".






Queen Elizabeth II, who met Mr Mandela on several occasions, said in a statement she was deeply saddened to learn of his death and remembered their meetings with great warmth.

"A great light has gone out in the world," said British Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Mandela was "a towering figure in our time; a legend in life and now in death - a true global hero", he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Nelson Mandela as "the most honourable figures of our time". He added: "He was the father of his people, a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence. He set a personal example for his people in the long years he spent in prison."

For the Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmud Abbas, Mr Mandela was "a symbol of the liberation from colonialism and occupation". Mr Abbas added that "the Palestinian people will never forget his historic statement that the South African revolution will not have achieved its goals as long as the Palestinians are not free".


Former heads of state...

Former Irish President Mary Robinsonsaid: "His death leaves us bereft - it is felt by all of us as a personal loss."South African ex-President FW de Klerk, who freed Mr Mandela from prison in 1990 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with him in 1993, said: "Tata, we shall miss you - but know that your spirit and example will always be there to guide us to the vision of a better and more just South Africa."

"We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life," said former US President Bill Clinton.