South Africa will this year celebrate the centenary of the birth of Oliver Reginald Tambo. Oliver Tambo was born in the Nkantolo village outside Mbizana in the Eastern Cape on 27 October 1917.
He is the late former President of the African National Congress and one of the key founding fathers of South Africa’s liberation and constitutional democracy.
The centenary celebrations will take place under the theme “Life and Legacy of OR Tambo” and are expected to run until December 2017. The celebrations will be used to draw lessons from his life and understand the qualities that made him succeed in uniting the ANC.
Tambo was the longest ever serving president of the ANC from 1969 to 1991. He has been described by President Jacob Zuma as a “solution oriented leader who always sought to move forward on the basis of building consensus”.
OR Tambo mobilised the international community to support our struggle against apartheid. He also led key processes from the Harare Declaration to the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
South Africa is today a constitutional democracy founded on the principles of human dignity and equal rights for everyone because of his leadership.
*Source: www.gov.za
