When did Nelson Mandela say, “Today...by our presence here, (we) confer glory and hope to newborn liberty”?

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. At his inaugural address on May 10, 1994 after proper acknowledgements of select dignitaries assembled he said, “Today, all of us do, by our presence, and by our celebrations in other parts of the country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty”.

In a clarion call for unity, other parts of his speech included the statements, “The time for healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us”.

Mandela served 27 years in prison before growing domestic and international pressure and the fear of a racial civil war resulted in President F. W. De Klerk to release him in 1990. Together the two men led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the African National Congress to victory and became president.

When he left office he started the Nelson Mandela Foundation focused on rural development, school construction, and combating HIV/AIDS. By the time of his death, he was widely considered both “the father of the nation” and “the founding father of democracy”.