The leader of the resistance against apartheid in South Africa was Nelson Mandela. A prominent member of the African National Congress (ANC), Mandela became a global symbol of the struggle for racial equality. After spending 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid activities, he was released in 1990. Mandela played a crucial role in the negotiations to dismantle apartheid and foster national reconciliation. In 1994, he became South Africa's first Black president in the nation's first multiracial elections, embodying the triumph of democracy and the fight against systemic racism.