It would be impossible to find someone as universally revered as former South African president Nelson Mandela.
With his death, the bright light of a moral titan has been dimmed.
Mandela's legacy is vast and complex.
Born into a royal family whose power had been cast aside by colonial waves, Mandela learned early the skills of political tactics and diplomacy.
They coloured his years as a revolutionary fired by a need for justice and later as a statesman who practised the art of compromise.
Overcoming hatred for his oppressors to lead South Africa out of apartheid to a modern democracy remains an astonishing triumph. Hatred, he once said, was not an emotion a leader can afford.
It would be wrong, however, to see Mandela as a saint or a Gandhi. He never renounced violence as a sometimes necessary tool against injustice. He was shrewd, learning Afrikaans in prison and learning about his oppressors before embracing them.
Pragmatism drove his policy of reconciliation. While he was later criticized for giving away too much to the economic power brokers, Mandela knew forgiveness was the only way forward for his tortured nation.
He moved from revolutionary to statesman with dignity and grace.
For all of his complexity, he towers above most political leaders. He will be remembered and admired for his moral strength, his fearlessness in the face of those who would crush him and his refusal to turn away from wrongs and suffering.
They are qualities we should all continue to strive for.
- Guest editorial from The North Shore News
