Business News

Photos: Nelson Mandela’s story through his encounters with celebrities and leaders

With Michelle Obama, 2011
With Michelle Obama, 2011
Image: AP Photo/Nelson Mandela Foundation
By
QZ
We may earn a commission from links on this page.

After she met Nelson Mandela at his 91st birthday party in 2009, Alfre Woodard, an American actress, told New York Magazine that she “was just trembling; not with fear, just with joy and energy.” She added:  “I think I was levitating.”

Woodard is hardly the only star for whom meeting Mandela, the legendary South African activist and president who died today, was like a rite of passage. In the 23 years after his release from prison in 1990, Mandela embraced or shook hands with countless celebrities and world leaders, and judging by the photos of some of those encounters, he was a deeply venerated man—an icon among icons.

Some of the figures that appear beside Mandela have since passed away; others have simply faded from the public consciousness; and still others have become notorious. Taken together, the images tell the history of Mandela’s political career through the people he met. Through it all, Mandela remains Mandela.

1990

Released from prison in February

Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Image: AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Image: AP Photo/Peter Southwick
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
Image: AP Photo/Doug Mills
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Image: AP Photo/Cleaver
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Image: Frederick Watkins, Jr. / AP

1991

A wax double at Madame Tussaud’s
A wax double at Madame Tussaud’s
Image: AP Photo/Gill Allen

1992

1993

1994

Elected president of South Africa in April

Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya

1995

Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Image: AP Photo/John Moore

1996

Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Image: AP Photo / Sasa Kralj
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Image: REUTERS
The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama
Image: AP Photo/Sasa Kralj
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Image: REUTERS

1997

Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
Image: REUTERS
Princess Diana
Princess Diana
Image: REUTERS
Barney
Barney
Image: REUTERS
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Image: REUTERS
Prince Charles, Scary Spice, and Ginger Spice
Prince Charles, Scary Spice, and Ginger Spice
Image: REUTERS

1998

Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
Image: REUTERS
Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Image: REUTERS
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II
Image: REUTERS
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Image: REUTERS
Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Image: REUTERS
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Image: REUTERS

1999

Leaves office in June

Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Image: REUTERS
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Image: REUTERS
Bill Gates
Bill Gates
Image: REUTERS

2000

2001

Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Image: REUTERS
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Image: REUTERS
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Image: REUTERS

2002

Michael Bloomberg, Robert De Niro, Hugh Grant
Michael Bloomberg, Robert De Niro, Hugh Grant
Image: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Bono
Bono
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya

2003

David Beckham
David Beckham
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya
Beyonce Knowles
Beyonce Knowles
Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

2004

Don King
Don King
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya
Will Smith
Will Smith
Image: REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya
Annie Lennox and Yusuf Islam
Annie Lennox and Yusuf Islam
Image: REUTERS/Matt Dunham

2005

George W. Bush
George W. Bush
Image: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

2006

The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
Image: AP Photo/Russel Roberts

2007

2008

Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius
Image: AP Images

2009

2010

2011

Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Image: AP / Nelson Mandela Foundation

2012

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton
Image: REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin

2013

Dies in a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa