Obama extols Mandela's courage, kindness, humility to S. Africa's Zuma JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President Obama told South Africa's president Nelson Mandela's courage, kindness and humility stirred millions of people, including Obama, the White House said. Obama spoke with Jacob Zuma by phone Thursday evening to express his "heartfelt condolences," the White House said in summarizing the call several hours after Zuma announced South Africa's first black president and an enduring icon of the struggle against racial oppression had died at age 95. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," Zuma said in a globally televised address late Thursday night, adding Mandela died at 8:50 p.m. local time (1:50 p.m. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love," Zuma said. Obama expressed to Zuma "how profoundly Mandela's extraordinary example of moral courage, kindness and humility influenced his own life, as well as those of millions around the world," the White House summary said. Obama, who is widely expected to travel to South Africa for Mandela's state funeral, spoke about the former South African president's influence earlier Thursday. "Like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him," Obama said in the White House press briefing room. Mandela and Obama both served as the first black leaders of their nations, and both men won the Nobel Peace Prize. But Obama has said he doesn't like the comparisons, saying his life would never compare to Mandela's sacrifices. Mandela spent 27 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow South Africa's white minority government. He was released from his life sentence in 1990 amid an international lobbying campaign, economic sanctions against the apartheid government and escalating domestic civil strife. Mandela later forged a peaceful end to apartheid by negotiating with his captors, including President F.W. de Klerk. They established multiracial elections in 1994 -- the first fully democratic election in the country's history -- in which Mandela led the African National Congress, a long-banned liberation movement, to a resounding victory. He served just one term as president and was not been seen in public after 2010, when South Africa hosted soccer's FIFA World Cup. The ANC said Friday, "The large baobab tree has fallen, but its roots will nourish the soil forever." South Africa is the site of the world's widest individual Sunland baobab, or Platland, tree. Its diameter at ground level is 31 feet and its circumference at breast height is 112 feet. In his call with Zuma, Obama said the United States and South Africa would "draw strength from Mandela's legacy as we work together to promote equality, reconciliation and human dignity, and to build a more just and prosperous world," the White House said. Among other leaders paying tribute, the Dalai Lama said in a letter sent to Mandela's family Friday he would miss his "dear friend," who he said he'd hoped to see again. "He was a man of courage, principle and unquestionable integrity, a great human being, someone of whom we can truly say, 'He lived a meaningful life,'" the letter quoted on the Dalai Lama's website said. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said the best tribute people could pay to Mandela was to "do whatever we can to contribute to honoring the oneness of humanity and working for peace and reconciliation as he did," the website said. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh likened Mandela to Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to independence from Britain in 1947 using non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi's approach inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. "A giant among men has passed away," Singh said of Mandela in a Twitter message. This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. He was a true Gandhian.