The Diplomat
People, composure and the difficult conversation held well.
Nelson Mandela embodies The Diplomat in the deepest sense, holding adversarial forces in productive tension and choosing reconciliation over retribution. Emerging from 27 years of imprisonment without vengeance, he committed to a negotiated transition, leading the multiparty talks that dismantled apartheid and produced the 1994 democratic elections.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
undated
“Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”
undated
“I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.”
undated
THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE