Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was an anti-apartheid political revolutionary who served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black President and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. This article discusses the trials and tribulations of the South African President and how sports diplomacy played a significant part in the country’s efforts at nation-building. Mandela decided to get involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics after South Africa’s National Party’s white-only government established a system of racial segregation that privileged the white community in the country. As a result of his political activities, he was arrested and imprisoned on several occasions (Nelson Mandela Foundation, n.d.). Having served 27 years of life in various prisons, Mandela was freed by President F.W de Klerk in 1990 owing to growing domestic and international pressure. Mandela and de Klerk jointly led efforts to ...