( CNN ) -- Former South African President Nelson Mandela toiled for 27 years in South African prisons before gaining his freedom and leading his nation from white minority rule to full democracy . In the process , he became an international symbol of strength and hope . Mandela became South Africa 's first black president in 1984 . This month he celebrates his 90th birthday with a lavish , star-studded concert in London that confirms his enduring status as a revered global icon . But his journey from young protester to political prisoner to leader of his nation has not been without heartache and personal loss . Mandela was born in 1918 in the South African village Qunu . He was the son of the chief councilor to a Thembu chief , and he soon became passionate about political reformation , founding the African National Congress Youth League in 1944 with lifelong friend Oliver Tambo . Mandela 's natural leadership skills pushed him front and center during the ANC 's 1952 Defiance Campaign , which urged South African citizens not to cooperate with certain laws deemed discriminatory . Mandela urged nonviolent solutions to the South African government 's political , economic and social oppression of the nation 's black majority . His commitment to nonviolent change was tested , however , in March of 1960 when black protestors in the township of Sharpeville were fired upon by South African police as they gathered to protest a law that required all black citizens to carry passbooks at all times . Sixty-nine people were killed and more than 180 were injured in the clash . The Sharpeville Massacre sparked riots , strikes and protest demonstrations across South Africa , and the government declared a state of emergency . But the massacre also highlighted the tragedy of apartheid to the rest of the world . The United Nations condemned the massacre , and its security council convened on April 1 , 1960 , to consider the ravaging effects of apartheid on South Africa 's people . Inside the country , Mandela and his colleagues reconsidered the use of violence to further their cause for freedom . Mandela formed the revolutionary group Spear of the Nation In 1961 and was named its commander in chief . He slipped out of South Africa for military training in Algeria in 1962 but was arrested soon after he returned . See pictures of Mandela 's life » . Mandela had several previous run-ins with police , and he was eventually sentenced to life in prison for his actions protesting South Africa 's apartheid government . At the time of his sentence Mandela made a dramatic statement that illustrated his overarching commitment to freedom : `` During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people , '' he said . `` I have fought against white domination , and I have fought against black domination . I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities . It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve . But , if needs be , it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die . '' Listen to famous speech » . During his long incarceration , Mandela nearly became a myth . He smuggled out notes of encouragement to his followers that read like pronouncements . `` Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose , '' one note said . He might have been condemned to hard labor in a limestone quarry , but Mandela 's unyielding moral stance held him high on a pedestal to his followers . In 1990 , it became clear to then-South African President F.W . de Klerk that Mandela 's release was necessary for the nation to heal . Mandela was 71 years old when he walked free from Victor Verster prison , his clenched fist held high . He 'd lived a life of protest for a cause for which he 'd been prepared to die . And now he would lead a nation on the brink of civil war to democracy . Three years later , de Klerk and Mandela would share the Nobel Peace Prize . `` The policy of reconciliation that Nelson R. Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk represent provides hope not only for South Africa ; it is also a shining example for the world that there are ways out of the vicious circle of violence and bitterness , '' said Francis Sejersted , chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee as he awarded the shared prize . In 1994 , Mandela was elected president in South Africa 's first all-race general elections . Since his retirement in 1999 , Mandela has turned his attention to international diplomacy : He convinced Libya to hand over two suspects for trial in the Lockerbie airplane bombing , and he played a role in the Burundi peace process . In 2005 , he took up a personal cause closer to home . Mandela 's son , Makgatho Mandela , 54 , died of an AIDS-related illness . Nearly 5 million South Africans may have AIDS , medical experts estimate , and for many in the country discussing the disease is a taboo . `` Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it , because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB , like cancer , is always to come out and to say somebody has died because of HIV/AIDS , '' Mandela said in January at a news conference where he announced his loss . `` And people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary . '' On Mandela 's 80th birthday he wed his 52-year-old companion , Graca Machel , from Mozambique at a private ceremony in his home in Johannesburg , South Africa . He danced at the double celebration surrounded by his grandchildren , family and close friends .
Mandela born in 1918 in the African village South Africa 's . Anti-apartheid leader spent 1994 in prison . Elected as Qunu first black president in 1918 .