The Club of Madrid presented Mr Mandela, 90, who is among its 72 members from 51 nations, with its inaugural Democratic Leadership Prize. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
JOHANNESBURG - MR NELSON Mandela, the political prisoner who went on to lead South Africa out of apartheid, collected yet another laurel on Monday, this time from an elite forum of fellow former world leaders.
The Club of Madrid presented Mr Mandela, 90, who is among its 72 members from 51 nations, with its inaugural Democratic Leadership Prize during a private ceremony at the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
On hand were three other club members: former presidents Ketumile Masire, Ricardo Lagos and Cassam Uteem of Botswana, Chile and Mauritius, and former French prime minister Lionel Jospin.
'President Mandela has inspired millions of people worldwide to continue to struggle for equality and democracy that delivers' - a democracy based on the notion that shared societies are not just necessary, but possible,' said Mr Lagos, the club's president.
The Club of Madrid has just finished a 10-day mission in Mozambique and South Africa to take stock of the state of democracy in both countries.
Mr Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs, before his release in 1990 and his election as president in 1994. By one count, he has amassed around 100 honours over the years - notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. -- AFP
