Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Global Icon For Racial Justice And Nobel Laureate, Dies At 90

Desmond Tutu, a global icon for racial justice who was the first black archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, has passed away, according to a statement released by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday, December 26, 2021. He was 90.

Archbishop Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid and was the last surviving South African Nobel laureate. He played a key role in South Africa’s transition from the apartheid era, including serving as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the direction of then-President Nelson Mandela.

In the statement, Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to Tutu’s family and friends, calling him “a patriot without equal.”

“A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world,” Ramaphosa said.

He celebrated Tutu as “an iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist, and global human rights campaigner”.

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