Johannesburg
\nArchbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric whose good humor, inspiring message and conscientious work for civil and human rights made him a revered leader during the struggle to end apartheid in his native South Africa, has died. He was 90.
\nIn a statement confirming his death on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to Tutu\u2019s family and friends, calling him \u201ca patriot without equal.\u201d
\n?\u201dA 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,\u201d Ramaphosa said.
\nTutu had been in ill health for years. In 2013, he underwent tests for a persistent infection, and he was admitted to hospital several times in following years.
\nFor six decades, Tutu — known affectionately as \u201cthe Arch\u201d — was one of the primary voices in exhorting the South African government to end apartheid, the country\u2019s official policy of racial segregation. After apartheid ended in the early \u201890s and the long-imprisoned Nelson Mandela became president of the country, Tutu was named chair of South Africa\u2019s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
\nThe Nelson Mandela foundation called Tutu\u2019s loss \u201cimmeasurable.\u201d
\n\u201cHe was larger than life, and for so many in South Africa and around the world his life has been a blessing,\u201d the foundation said in a statement. \u201cHis contributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies.\u201d
\nTutu\u2019s civil and human rights work led to prominent honors from around the world. Former US President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Obama called Tutu a \u201cmentor, a friend, and a moral compass\u201d in a statement after his death.
\n\u201cArchbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries,\u201d said Obama.
\nPresident Joe Biden also mourned Tutu on Sunday. \u201cHis courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa,\u201d the President said in a joint statement with first lady Jill Biden. \u201cHis legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages.\u201d
\nIn 2012, Tutu was awarded a $1 million grant by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for \u201chis lifelong commitment to speaking truth to power.\u201d The following year, he received the Templeton Prize for his \u201clife-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which has helped to liberate people around the world.\u201d
\nMost notably, he received the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, following in the footsteps of his countryman, Albert Lutuli, who received the prize in 1960.
\nThe Nobel cemented Tutu\u2019s status as an instrumental figure in South Africa, a position he gained in the wake of protests against apartheid. Despite anger about the policy within South Africa, as well as widespread global disapproval — the country was banned from the Olympics from 1964 through 1988 — the South African government quashed opposition, banning the African National Congress political party and imprisoning its leaders, including Mandela.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Johannesburg Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric whose good humor, inspiring message and conscientious work for civil and human rights made him a revered leader during the struggle to end apartheid in his native South Africa, has died. He was 90. In a statement confirming his death on Sunday, South African President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-235372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n