Nelson Mandela: A life in pictures
Nelson Mandela was one of the most recognisable and well-known men on Earth.
Pictured here in his first televised interview, the young activist Nelson Mandela told an ITN reporter he feared it was "useless and futile" to continue a campaign of non-violent protest.
He was speaking soon after the massacre of 69 unarmed black protesters in Sharpville in 1961.
Nelson Mandela visited London for the first time in 1962. It would be more than 30 years until he returned.
This was the world's first glimpse of Mandela after his long-awaited release from prison.
He took the last steps of his long walk to freedom hand-in-hand with his wife Winnie.
In 1995, President Mandela presented the Rugby World Cup trophy to Springbok captain Francois Pienaar after New Zealand's dramatic defeat in extra time.
The roar from the largely white South African crowd showed the strength of his popularity just five years since his release from prison.
Mandela's state visit to the UK in 1996 was in many ways more like a coronation. As the official guest of the Queen, he travelled along the Mall in an open carriage.
He was also bestowed eight honorary degrees and was the star of a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Among the millions of people to visit Robben Island and view Mandela's former cell was Bill Clinton in 1998
Mandela himself showed the US president around the tiny room that was his home for 17 years.
Mandela hosted the Spice Girls at the presidential residence in Pretoria at the height of their fame.
During a photocall, 'Ginger Spice' Geri Halliwell famously joked that the 79-year-old leader was only "as young as the girl you feel".
Perhaps recognising a kindred spirit, Mandela replied that he would "take you up on that".
During a visit to the Vatican in 1998, Mandela thanked Pope John Paul II for the Catholic Church's help in educating and caring for black South Africans at a time when the government treated them as second-class citizens.
Among the many celebrities to have visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg was footballer David Beckham in 2003.
Then captain of the England side, Beckham dropped in before his team's friendly match against South Africa in Durban.
Thousands of South Africans marked the 20th anniversary of their first black leader's release from prison by chanting "Viva, Nelson Mandela, Viva".
Mandela observed the occasion from the gallery at the opening of parliament in Cape Town on 11 February 2010.
South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup - the first African country to do so - was a moment of national pride.
Nelson Mandela was there to close the tournament at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium.
US First Lady Michelle Obama was one of the few people to have received an audience with Mandela in recent years.
Her visit to the former president's homestead in rural South Africa in 2011 resulted in this memorable image.
Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday last July at his family home in Qunu in rural Eastern Cape.South Africans celebrated the occasion with giant cakes, mass renditions of 'Happy Birthday' and 67 minutes of good deeds - one for each year of Mandela's struggle against white-minority rule.