This is a comprehensive list of awards, honours and other recognitions bestowed on Nelson Mandela. Mandela received more than 260 awards over 40 years, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
From 1994 to 1999, Mandela was President of South Africa. He was the first such African to be elected in fully representative democratic polls.
Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress and its armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. He spent 27 years in prison, much of it in a cell on Robben Island. The rest of his incarceration was in Pollsmoor Prison, on convictions for crimes that included sabotage committed while he spearheaded the struggle against apartheid.
Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, his advocacy of a policy of reconciliation and negotiation helped lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid, he was widely praised, even by former opponents.
Mandela died on 5 December 2013 as a celebrated elder statesman who continued to voice his opinion on topical issues. In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an aristocratic title adopted by the elderly members of the royal clan that he belonged to. This title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.
1960s 1964 – Elected Honorary President of the Students' Union, University of Leeds
1970s 1973 – A nuclear particle discovered by scientists at the University of Leeds is named the "Mandela particle". 1975 – Honorary life membership of the Students' Union, University of London 1979 – Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Law, University of Lesotho, Maseru, 29 September 1979 – Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations New Delhi, India
1981 August – Freedom of the City of Glasgow The first UK road named in his honour – "Mandela Close" – is unveiled in the London Borough of Brent Bruno Kreisky Award for merit in the field of human rights, chosen by a panel of international judges, Vienna, Austria
1983 Honorary citizenship of Rome, February Honorary citizenship of Olympia, Greece, 17 March Honorary Doctorate of Laws, City College of New York, 22 March Ornamental gardens in Hull, United Kingdom, named "Nelson Mandela Gardens", May City Council of Dublin, Ireland, unveiled sculpture in Merrion Square by Elisabeth Frink dedicated to Nelson Mandela, 26 June Award of the order Star of International Friendship in gold by the German Democratic Republic, 18 July City Council of Harlow, United Kingdom, renamed one of its major roads in honour of Nelson Mandela, 18 July AUEW/TASS, one of United Kingdom's major trade unions, renamed their executive committee room the "Nelson Mandela Room", 18 July Freedom of London Borough of Greenwich, 20 July UNESCO awards its first Simon Bolivar International Prize jointly to Nelson Mandela and King Juan Carlos of Spain at a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Simón Bolívar, 24 July City Council of Leeds, United Kingdom, names the Civic Hall "Nelson Mandela Gardens", 10 December Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Lancaster University, United Kingdom The Students Unions of Warwick University, Coventry Polytechnic (now Coventry University) and South Bank Polytechnic (now London South Bank University) named rooms in honour of Nelson Mandela New York City renamed square in front of South African mission to the United Nations 'Nelson and Winnie Mandela Plaza'
1984 Honorary Degree, Free University of Brussels, 13 January London Borough of Camden Council, names the street where the Anti-Apartheid Movement has its headquarters as "Mandela Street". London Borough of Hackney Council, renames a housing block after Nelson Mandela, April Order of Playa Girón, Cuba, awarded by Fidel Castro Honorary membership of National Association of Local Government Officers [NALGO] United Kingdom London Borough of Haringey Council, names housing development after Nelson Mandela Monument to Nelson Mandela unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin Elected Honorary Member of the Students Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland Freedom of the City of Wijnegem, Belgium Awarded Star of International Friendship, German Democratic Republic, 27 August Freedom of the City of Aberdeen conferred on both Nelson and Winnie Mandela, 29 November School in German Democratic Republic named 'Nelson Mandela School' Room at Edinburgh city chambers named in his honour
1985 Revenue Staff Federation, United Kingdom, names its Commonwealth trade union scholarship after Nelson Mandela London Borough of Southwark names new road 'Mandela Way' Nottingham City Council names a room in a sports centre The Third World Prize, awarded annually by the London-based Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies, awarded jointly to Nelson and Winnie Mandela Awarded freedom of the City of Hull, United Kingdom. Awarded Degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 3 July 1985 Freeman of Midlothian, Scotland (accepted during his October 1993 visit) Awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize by Human Rights Institute of The Bar of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, 29 March Nigerian writers organisation, Writers and Journalists Against Apartheid (WAJAAP), confers title of Life Patron Town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, renames its speakers' corner Nelson Mandela Corner, September Freedom of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October Honorary citizenship of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October Diploma of Honour and Friendship from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October Statue of Nelson Mandela erected in London by Greater London Council, unveiled by Oliver Tambo on 28 October Senegal's President Abdou Diouf inaugurates Soweto Square and Nelson Mandela Avenue in the centre of Dakar, Senegal, 6 December Awarded Doctor of Laws degree by Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, December
1986
Elected Honorary Life President of the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa Awarded the W.E.B. DuBois International Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Coventry City Council named new building after Mandela Presented with the Alfonso Comin Foundation Peace Award in Barcelona, Spain Freedom of the Borough of Islwyn, Wales, given to Winnie and Nelson Mandela International Peace and Freedom Award by the Workers International Centre, Stockholm Sweden Honorary Doctor of Literature, University of Calcutta Awarded, with Winnie Mandela, the Third World Prize by the Strategic and International Studies Group of Malaysia, 5 May Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Zimbabwe Nelson Mandela Park in Leicester, England, named after Mandela Honorary membership awarded to Winnie and Nelson Mandela by the National Union of Seamen, United Kingdom St George's Place in Glasgow, Scotland, the location of the South African consulate is renamed Nelson Mandela Place. Awarded the Cross of St. Andrew by Scotland. Made Honorary Freeman of Newcastle
1987 First person to receive the Freedom of the City of Sydney, Australia, 9 January. Honorary Degrees, Winnie and Nelson Mandela, United States Ross University School of Medicine in the Caribbean Named Patron of Isipingo and District Football Association, Natal Honorary Degree, University of Michigan, US Honorary Degree. University of Havana, Cuba Honorary Citizen, City of Florence, Italy Honorary Doctor of Laws, Trent University, Canada Honorary Doctorate, Karl Marx University of the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig, 11 November Archivio Disarmo Golden Doves for Peace International Award, IRIAD Dutch football player Ruud Gullit dedicates his European Footballer of the Year award to Nelson Mandela
1988 Park in Montreal named "Parc Winnie-et-Nelson-Mandela" (Winnie's name removed in 1998) Awarded Bremen Solidarity Prize, Federal Republic of Germany Nelson and Winnie Mandela given honorary membership of the National Union of Teachers, United Kingdom Awarded freedom of the City of Dublin, Ireland Awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, by the European Parliament Honorary Doctorate conferred, University of Carabobo, Venezuela, June Awarded honorary degree from Western Michigan University from then-president Diether Haenicke, June People of Lefkada, Greece, award the Medal of Peace, August Honorary citizenship conferred by nine Greek municipalities Egaleo, Ellenikon, Glyfada, Ilioupolis, Daissariani, New Filadelfia, Nikaea, Preveza and Zogrofu Honorary degree in Political Science awarded by the University of Bologna, Italy, 12 September Honorary citizenship bestowed by the Town Council of the city of Bologna, Italy, September Awarded the United Nations Human Rights Fourth Award, 10 December Bachelor of Laws degree, University of South Africa
1989 Augusto César Sandino Award bestowed by Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, Managua, 21 February Freedom of the Municipality of Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. Award received on his behalf by Oliver Tambo Awarded Peace Prize of the Tipperary Peace Committee, Ireland Nuremberg Platz renamed "Nelson Mandela Platz", Nuremberg, Germany, June Honorary Doctorate of Laws, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 16 June Square in Clayes-sous-Bois, France, named "Nelson Mandela Square", September
1990
Made Honorary Life President of National Union of Mineworkers when he addressed its Central Committee, 21 April Granted freedom of the City of Harare, Zimbabwe, March "Mandela Day", a public holiday declared in Zimbabwe on 5 March Awarded the Lenin Peace Prize for 1990, May. The last-ever recipient. Bestowed the Dr António Agostinho Neto Order, the highest honour of the People's Republic of Angola, 12 May Bestowed the award "Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria", Lagos, 14 May Awarded the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights in Tripoli, Libya, 19 or 20 May Honorary degree in political science by the Cairo University, Egypt, May Bestowed Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, October Doctorate, honoris causa, conferred by University of Malaya, November Honorary Doctorate in law, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town, 28 November Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Cape Town
1991 Honorary LL.D Degree conferred, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 6 September Awarded Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize, 8 December Awarded Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize by UNESCO Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Southern University in 1991. Honorary Doctor of Laws, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica, July
1992 Installed as Chancellor of the University of the North (now called University of Limpopo), 25 April Honorary LL.D Degree conferred by the University of Fort Hare, 9 May Honorary Doctorate conferred at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal, 30 June Presented with the Freedom of Miami Beach Medallion of Honour, Johannesburg, 29 September Pakistan conferred the Nishan-e-Pakistan, 3 October Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, Oviedo, Spain, 31 October Received the "Spirit of Liberty" award at the "People for the American Way" award ceremony, 8 November Received the Isitwalandwe Medal from the ANC. Awarded the Atatürk International Peace Prize by Turkey, but refused the award citing human rights violations committed by Turkey during that time. Mandela later accepted the award in 1999.
1993
Received Gleitsman Foundation International Activist Award, Johannesburg, 12 May Received Philadelphia Liberty Medal. Presented by President of the United States Bill Clinton, Philadelphia, US, 4 July Honorary Degree conferred, Clark Atlanta University, 10 July Received Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon, Taipei, Taiwan, 31 July