Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose efforts helped to end apartheid in his home country of South Africa, has died at the age of 90. Tutu had struggled with various health problems in recent years and was admitted to the hospital on several occasions.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed the news in a statement released on Sunday.
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”A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world,” Ramaphosa said.
Tutu played a critical role in helping to end the racial segregation of apartheid in South Africa. He was named the chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the policy was ended in the 1990s and Nelson Mandela took over as president. In 1984, Tutu was given the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries,” former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Twitter.
[Via]