May 3
These four larger-than-life bronze statues at the V&A Waterfront’s Nobel Square pay tribute to South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and stand tall as symbols of the country’s ongoing struggle for equality and justice. Seen from left to right are:
Albert Luthuli, a teacher, anti-apartheid activist, and African National Congress president–general who spent many years under house arrest in an effort by the government to stifle his political leadership. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his non-violent struggle against apartheid.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican cleric who in the 1980s brought international awareness—and economic pressure—to speed the end of apartheid. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his role as a unifying symbol for all South African freedom fighters and for his emphasis on a nonviolent path to liberation.
Former South African President F.W. de Klerk, who released Nelson Mandela and other political activists from prison soon after taking office and worked to help dismantle apartheid.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years in prison for his fight against apartheid before becoming the nation’s first Black president.
Mandela and de Klerk, who laboriously negotiated terms for the peaceful termination of apartheid, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for that work and for “laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.”
