Nelson Mandela was professionally involved in politics.
The African National Congress ( ANC ) is the Republic of South Africa 's governing social democratic political party . Nelson Mandela . There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics , joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944 . Mandela and de Klerk negotiated an end to apartheid and organised the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became President . 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 .