Nelson Mandela is a person.
Nelson Mandela . Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist , he served as President of the African National Congress ( ANC ) party from 1991 to 1997 . Internationally , he acted as mediator in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999 . Although critics on the right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the radical left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid 's supporters , he gained international acclaim for his activism .