Full Name: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Profession: Anti-Apartheid Activist and Politician
Biography: A controversial figure in South African history and a staunch anti-apartheid activist, Winnie Madikizela married Nelson Mandela in 1958. When he was sent to prison in 1963 after the Riviona Trial, she became the public face of Mandela through his 27 years imprisonment. On numerous occasions she was arrested, tortured and exiled.
Her image was damaged in the 1980s after it emerged that she had been involved in kidnapping, torture and murder by members of her security detail known as the 'Mandela United Football Club.'
After Nelson Mandela was released in 1990, their marriage quickly ended, and they were divorced in 1996. Winnie Mandela died at age 81 in 2018.
Born: September 26, 1936
Birthplace: Bizana, Pondoland, South Africa
Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Sign: Libra
Married Life
- 1958-06-14 Nelson Mandela weds Winnie Madikizela
- 1992-04-13 Nelson Mandela announces he will seek divorce from Winnie Madikizela
- 1996-03-19 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela divorces Nelson Mandela after 38 years of marriage
Historical Events
- 1971-03-03 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 1 year in jail in South Africa
- 1976-12-28 Winnie Mandela banished in South Africa
- 1984-05-12 South African prisoner Nelson Mandela sees his wife Winnie Mandela for the 1st time in 22 years
- 1990-06-13 Nelson and Winnie Mandela welcomed in NYC
- 1990-06-16 Nelson & Winnie Mandela visit Leidseplein, Amsterdam
- 1991-05-14 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal
- 1993-11-20 Winnie Mandela's driver and bodyguard murdered in Johannesburg
- 1998-08-14 Winnie Mandela sued by the South African government
Alan Paton
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