Oliver Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. Born in 1917, he began his education in a small rural school and went on to attend boarding school, where he developed a love for sports and music. After completing high school, he attended the College of Fort Hare, where he met Nelson Mandela and other future political leaders. Tambo was expelled from the college for participating in a student protest and returned home to teach at his former high school. In 1943, he co-founded the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), which aimed to make the ANC more accessible to ordinary people.
Tambo later qualified as a lawyer and co-founded the legal firm of Mandela and Tambo with Nelson Mandela. The firm became well-known for its work on behalf of oppressed people in South Africa, and Tambo took over its management when Mandela was banned from practicing law. Tambo was also involved in political activism, serving as the National Secretary of the ANC when Walter Sisulu was banned from political activity.
Tambo was committed to nonviolent resistance against the apartheid regime, but he also recognized the need for international support to bring about change in South Africa. He played a key role in organizing the ANC’s campaign for international sanctions against the apartheid regime and traveled extensively to rally support from governments and organizations around the world.
After the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990, Tambo continued to play a leading role in the ANC, serving as its president until ill health forced him to step down in 1991. He died in 1993, just a few months before South Africa’s first democratic elections, which marked the end of apartheid. Tambo is remembered as a dedicated and visionary leader who played a crucial role in the struggle against apartheid and in shaping the future of South Africa.