Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo (
27 October 1917 -
24 April 1993) was a
South African anti-
apartheid politician and a central figure in the
African National Congress (ANC). He was born in
Mbizana in eastern
Mpondoland in what is now
Eastern Cape.
In
1940 he, along with several others including
Nelson Mandela, was expelled from
Fort Hare University for participating in a student strike. In 1942 Tambo returned to his former high school in Johannesburg to teach science and mathematics.
Tambo, along with Mandela and
Walter Sisulu, was a founding member of the
ANC Youth League in
1943, becoming its first National Secretary and later a member of the National Executive in 1948. The youth league proposed a change in tactics in the anti-apartheid movement. Previously the ANC had sought to further its cause by actions such as petitions and demonstrations; however, the Youth League felt these actions were insufficient to achieve the group's goals and proposed their own 'Programme of Action'. This programme advocated tactics such as boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes and non-collaboration.
In
1955 Tambo became Secretary General of the ANC after
Walter Sisulu was banned by the South African government under the
Suppression of Communism Act. In
1958 he became Deputy President of the ANC and in
1959 was served with a five year banning order by the government.
In response, Tambo was sent abroad by the ANC to mobilise opposition to
apartheid. He was involved in the formation of the
South African United Front, which helped bring about South Africa's expulsion from the
Commonwealth in
1961. In
1967, Tambo became Acting President of the ANC, following the death of Chief
Albert Lutuli. In
1985 he was re-elected President of the ANC. In
1989 he suffered a debilitating stroke, but continued on as a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement both abroad and in South Africa.
He returned to South Africa in
1991 after over 30 years in exile, and was elected National Chairperson of the ANC in July of the same year. Tambo died due to complications from a second stroke on
April 24,
1993.
In 2004 he was voted 31
st in the
SABC3's Great South Africans.
In late 2005 ANC politicians announced plans to rename
Johannesburg International Airport after him.
*
Oliver Tambo - Anti-Apartheid leader*
ANC biography{{Persondata
NAME=Tambo, Oliver Reginald | ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | SHORT DESCRIPTION=South African politician | DATE OF BIRTH=27 October 1917 | PLACE OF BIRTH=Mbizana, Mpondoland, South Africa | DATE OF DEATH=24 April, 1993 | PLACE OF DEATH=South Africa
|
