He walked out of prison after 27 years and didn't call for revenge
Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison on 11 February 1990, after serving 27 years for opposing apartheid. Rather than lead a campaign of retribution, he pushed for negotiation, becoming the country's first Black president four years later and co-chairing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission instead of a round of trials.
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom — 1994
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