I try to remember at all times how he was able to negotiate the peaceful termination of apartheid in South Africa. He compromised but never relinquished his principles. |
I was always impressed with her intellect. She was educated. She was politically astute. That is a very important aspect of leadership: If you are not wise, if you are not familiar with how to deal with people different from yourself, then you can't be an effective leader. She could talk to anyone. She was an effective legislator. She knew how to get legislation passed for those less fortunate. |
Nelson Mandela was a man of tremendous courage and character. I became aware of him as a teenager in D.C., but I only heard a very little about him as I was growing up. It was when I became an adult that I really started to appreciate his life and his quest for freedom. |