>> hello again, welcome to our special cover annual of the death of nelson mandela. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. >> it is morning now in south africa. crowds have gathered outside the former president's home in johannesburg, he died peacefully on thursday, he was 95. >> mandela is known for freeing south africa and delivering it into the hands of democracy. president jacob zuma broke the news of his death.

>> our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced mandela as their own and who saw his cause as their cause. this is the moment of our deepest sorrow. >> well, millions of people around the world are joining south africans in mourning the death of nelson mandela. let go live now to johannesburg. robyn curnow who has covered nelson mandela's career extensively. i guess the fact that he hasn't been president for 14 years him he has so many people out in the stheet streets. he remains in their hearts on this day. >> reporter: absolutely. you know, nelson mandela's life

mirrored south africa's struggle for political freedom and i think that's why people feel so personally checked to him as well a deeply grateful for the role he played in freeing this nation and i think there is such a lesson to be learned from his leadership, because when you think about it, suffering and the kind of sacrifices nelson mandela made can embitter a person but, instead, with this man, it ennobled him. [ music playing ] nelson mandela's struggle for freedom defined his life. he was born in the remote hills of south africa's easton cape. he was given a name which means trouble maker. he was only given the name nelson by a school teacher later on. after moving to johannesburg and studying law, as a boxer, he

became adepth at pecking fights and sparking fights with authorities which had increased against the black population. it was then mandela became the crucial struggle to launch american national congress's when. he was mill and the and a fire brand, defiantly burning his passbook, a dreaded document the authorities used to control the move him of south africa's black population. >> the africans require want a franchise on the basis of one man one vote. they want political independence. >> reporter: that simple demand and the efforts mandela took to fight for democracy eventually saw him and others tried for treason and sabotaged by the apartheid government, acts punishable by death. they were banished to robben island, one of the most brutal and isolated prisons.

another political prisoner remembers the first time he saw mandela in a prison yard. >> i could see from the way he walked and from his conduct that here was a man already stamping his authority on prison regime. >> reporter: mandela was released 27 years later. >> i have spoken about freedom in my lifetime. your commitment and your discipline has released me to stand before you today. >> and his lack of bitterness towards the apartheid authorities helped him to lead one of the most remarkable political ran sixes of the 20th century, mandela, the trained lawyer and lifelong rebel outmaneuvered the apartheid leaders and he steered south

africa's peaceful transition to democracy. he won a nobel peace prize together with his former enemy f.w. de klerk. >> and to deport myself for the wealthy of the republic and all its people. >> reporter: then he became south africa's first black president in 1994. >> so help me god. >> what marks mandela's career as president more, almost more than anything else, this is after five years, he stepped down. there have been very few presidents in africa who have given up willingly. >> don't call me. i'll call you [ music playing ] >> reporter: his time and years were busy for fundraising for charities close to his heart. he celebrated his 90th birthday with much fanfare and told cnn in a rare interview that looking back, he wouldn't do anything differently. >> i only regret it because the

things that have triggered me were things that pleased my soul. >> now those who loved and respected him look to his legacy. >> and if we want to learn from him, then that life is not made up of straight victories, it is made up of mistakes, zigzags, stumbling, picking yourself up and dusting off the dirt. walking again forward. >> that is what mandela is. >> good-bye. >> reporter: now, a low, dark grey cloud is hanging over johannesburg this morning as people woke up to the news that nelson mandela had died overnight. there is a somber, grey feeling in this town and this country today, but i think many south africans also quietly pragmatic

also thankful that he has been released from his suffering. south africans know that he hasn't been well and that he has been been in discomfort and they have been very worried that he has been in suffering, that he has been suffering, just remember, he has been on a ventilator for more than six months. he was on dialysis for kidney failure. we know he was receiving a lot of drugs and, you know, he was also, he was just not there anymore for much of in year and i think that pained those very close to him, it pained this nation knowing that he has gently over the years slipped away. so there is a collective sigh of relief i think that he has been released from pain, released from suffering, but a deep, deep thankfulness and sadness that he is gone because this is a nation that looks at itself as a nation no longer having that hajj, that visionary, that profits of

mandela in their midst. >> robin, that grape, somber move will continue ten days of national mourning. so what can we expect of the next few days? >> well, it's going to be interesting how this plays out. just remember, the government, the authorities, the family here have kept details of his illness as you know over these months, very, very close to their chests. there have certainly been no official planning released. so what we know, what cnn has gathered you know has been a culmination of speaking to many people and sources and what we understand is that over the next ten days, nelson mandela's body will be accompanied most of the time by a group of tiebal elders who have come up here from his home village and they will be accompanying him ob this final journey. they are going to be at the morgue there to a military

hospital in pretoria. we understand there is a traditional ceremony called the closing of the eyes in which the tribal leaders talk to the spirits of mandela and to his ancestors, paving the way essentially into the after world and they have been explaining to him every time he's moved to a different location. now, there will be various locations where the body will be moved over the next few days, he will be embombed, probably on monday or tuesday. we look at him. people will be able to pay their respects to him at a memorial service, a public mostly anc memorial service at the local soccer stadium here in johannesburg where the football world cup final was held. some heads of states, perhaps barak obama will attend that. then we will see three days of lying in state. 2340u what will be symbol ec about that is that he will lie

in state at the steps of the union building in nearly the same place where he took his oath of office to become the first democratically elected president. once that process is over on day nine essentially of this program, he will be flown by military aircraft along with the elders vip political figures and his family, which is large, they'll be flown down to his hometown and then the military, the state will effectively hand over his body, his coffin, his casket to the family at the get as of the homeinstead, i think from what we understand there will be a shift from moving the south african flag to putting a blanket over his casket, which will symbolize him coming home to his ancestral land. then there will be atate funeral in the ground of his ancestral home in the hills where he walked and played as a young

child. so there really is a sense of a full circle of life here going back to those rural roots. >> so many.iant moments to come. thank you so much, such good work. such a long day four. we appreciate it. thank you. and president barak obama paid his respects tog during a televised event. he credits mr. mandela with his first political action company against apartheid. this is some of what mr. obama had to say. >> we will not likely see the likes of nelson mandela again. so it falls to us as best we can to forward the dpl that he set to make decisions guided not by hate but by love. never discount the difference that one person can make to strive for a further worthy of his sacrifice. >> well, one of nelson mandela's biggest supporters was archbishop desmond tutu.

he presided over a church service in capetown to remember his friend a short time ago. these pictures coming into us about 30 minutes ago and people listening to mr. tutu's every word about his friend. archbishop tutu also released a statement saying, we quote, over the past 24 hour years madiba taught us how to come together and to believe in ourselves and each other. he was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison. we are relieved that his suffering is over, but our relief is drowned by our grief. may he rest in peace and rise in glory. >> the memorials, the ceremonies are just beginning. so, too, will be the celebrations when people remember what a great bhan hefrls, all hills achievements he has done, so much more than anybody else, really, when you think about his life and impact on the world. there is so much to play out in the coming days. >> so many people who were younger who maybe missed if nelson mandela moments will get to learn about this great man, a

whole new generation will, perhaps. >> absolutely. we have much more ahead on the legacy of nelson mandela. >> our special cover annual continues right after a quick break.

. >> they have been sitting outside nelson mandela homes in johannesburg. the crowds have gathered there. there is some singing. there is some dancing. it is still fairly subdued as this nation learns that the man that they love so much has now died. >> and we welcome you back to our continuing death of nelson mandela. >> the former south african president died peacefully at home on thursday after an extended illness, he was 95-years-old. >> well, the united nations's security council held a moment of silence on the announcement of mandela's death.

>> leaders from around the world have been paying tribute to nelson mandela. this is what britain's prime minister david cameron had to say a little earlier. >> tonight, one of the brightest lights of our world has gone out. nelson mandela was not just a hero of our time, but a hero of all time. the first president of a free south africa, a man who suffered so much for freedom and justice. and a man who through his dignitary and through his triumph inspired millions. the strongest impression of all when you met him was of his extraordinary compassion and generosity and forgiveness. tonight, families across britain will mourn with his family and everyone in south africa. your greatest son has moved

millions and i believe that his inspiration for the future will be every bit as powerful as the extraordinary things that he achieved in his remarkable life. thank you. >> general colin powell was the first african-american to serve as if joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state. powell about the impact nelson mandela had on his life. >> i was able to spend time with him and so many things said about nelson mandela, my memories will always go back to his inauguration. in 19 no94, i will never forget came up on stage to become the new president of the new south africa. he was preceded be i the four generals. you see things through the filter of your experience, as a general, i couldn't help to note

these four generals came up on the stage ahead of him as a guard of honor. they were showing him they accepted him as a freely elected president. then he looked down to the jailers who were in the front row and reminded everybody that my regime, my new leadership of this country is about reconciliation. it's about democracy. it's about taking care of the people. it's about improving the economy and that living in the past but looking forward to the future, he was a remarkable man. >> general powell, who where do you think as somebody who met him and followed him so closely from your leadership of this country, where do you think he got the emotional strength to set this example? obviously, it would be i think psychologically impossible to completely forgive the people who oppressed you for having done that or having denied you spending time with your children, cost you a marriage imprisoned you for 27 years. but he did so, so nakedly,

publicly, having his jailers there at his inauguration. how is he able to do that? >> i think he came from the depth of the soul, the depth of his heart and the depth of his love for his country and the depth of his love for his people and he made it clear from the very start that he was determined to bring an end to apartheid. he would do it peacefully. he would try to use the laws. if that didn't work, he was repaired to resort to violence and he did. but when the violence was getting out of control and it was obvious then that the white leadership was getting ready to reach out to him, he didn't compromise his principles. he insisted on tend of apartheid and a new way of life in south africa. so he believed and he sacrificed for his belief and he never strayed from his purpose. we all seen leaders like that, who have a clear vision, a clear purpose and who have moral courage and fiscal courage to do whatever is fwhes to succeed and

that's what he did. that's what makes him an dpl to us. that's inspiration for the entire world. >> tell us if you would as somebody who had met him so many times, if have you any personal stories to share to lel let us in, so many of us know him only from television or his books or his speeches be you you actually had occasion to know him. >> i knew him. i had dinner with him. i had conversations with him. what always struck me was his humbleness. i mean, he was a humble, gentle, warm person, even though he was a fighter on the political stage as well as on the military stage, but he was a man of deep conviction about what was right and he approached every he met as a fellow named dooerngs equal to him. and that's what i remember. and he had a warm smile, we would sit. we would talk. he would say, how are you?

i'm very well, thank you. and he was so gracious. a gracious man. you very seldom can find that combination of virtues and values and principles all in one person. it was all there in one man we all came to love and know mandiba, nelson mandela. >> how about that? >> a fighter but warm and gentle former secretary of state collin powell there. >> stay with us. we will continue to look at the life and legacy of nelson mandela. >> including his love of sports and how he used it to help unite south africa. that's still ahead.

. >> welcome back. nelson mandela made an appearance at soccer stadium in johannesburg him he missed the opening ceremony you might recall a great granddaughter had been killed in a car crash just hours before. but the nearly 85,000 spectators final between spain and the netherlands were all delighted to see the former south african president. it was to be his last major

public appearance. we haven't talked enough about the nelson mandela smile. my goodness. >> and the laugh. >> yeah. >> and the dancing. >> yes. >> that, too. yes. we'll see that as well. >> that's what i will always remember. >> nelson mandela once famously said sport has the power to change the world. he was a keen boxer and runner in his younger days. as president he used the 199 a 5 rugby world cup to bring all the issues of south africa. nelson mandela leaves a lasting impression on the world of sport. >> this is your country. 7 minutes. 7 minutes. defense, defense, defense. this is it. this is our destiny. >> ought only did the 1959 rugby world cup produce the nations host title. it was once used as a springbird by then president nelson mandela to try to develop a united post south africa.

mandela appreciated the impact sports was capable of and a premier home event held in his homeland was just the vehicle he needed. in 2009, a hollywood production of "invictus" was presented by clint eastwood to inspire change by rugby. >> this is a story about a man who went his own way even though a lot of people advised him against it and were objected to his getting involved with using a sport to kind of bring about reunification and it worked. it workled. it's a wonderful moment in south african history. >> reporter: the movie stars matt damon who plays francois piinaar. freeman believes since that 1995 tournament the nation has gone from strength to strength. >> i think what they learned on that day was that together they

could do anything. if they pull together there was nothing they couldn't do. the entire country so happy having pulled that off because mandela resorted everyone to pull for the team to be one country, one nation, one team, one nation, one team, one nation. so i think that's what they walked away from that whole experience with, we did it. >> reporter: south african golf ledgered gary player is regarded as the finest in history. he has nothing but respect for the mandela legacy. >> rugby was strictly a white man's sport. in the world cup when nelson mandela came into that statement wearing a springbok jersey, he united everything everyone.

i'm honored to say our springbok team, it wouldn't surprise me to see ten or 12 on the team. in the schools it's now being played. how do you work out what a man like president mandela has been done? he has been so powerful with love. love conquers the world. >> reporter: the 1995 rugby world cup is remembered so much more than a tournament. it was a defining moment, inspired by mandela who in his own special and unique way insured victory for his country on and off the field of play. >> yeah. >> that rugby world cup was so amazing and then to see it in the movie with matt damon and morgan freeman. >> nailed it. >> absolutely. a goose bump moment. >> through the sport, you get to see for so many words describing nelson mandela, he's a joyful person. you could see is that when he was engaged in sports. >> and with children, too. >> absolutely.

>> you say, what did you have for breakfast today? little things like that. >> i think bill clinton once told a story how he would ask about chelsea when he seen bill and hillary. he had advice or thoughtful things about child rearing and family as well. too much to say. we won't get it all in in ten days of coverage. we will look at the impact of nelson mandela. >> we will have another report. robyn curnow from johannesburg and reaction from around the world. please stay with us. you are watching cnn.

. >> welcome back to a special cnn news room. there are few people who changed the world. >> ah, yes, but nelson mandela did. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. the president and iconic champion of civil rights died thursday age 95 after years of illness. he was at his home in johannesburg surrounded by family. south african president jacob zuma said our nation has lost its greatest son. our people have lost a father.

mandela's hospital has been moved. this is the scene right outside mandela's home there in johannesburg in the out market neighborhood. you can see right now people are laying flowers and to bring tribute to the man widely seen as the father of modern south africa. he was president for five years. he stepped down, has not been president for 14 years but remains very much in the heart of so many people there. this news came later than night south african time and so right now as this country wakes up, 34 minutes past 8:00, many people are learning nelson mandela is at rest. >> and, of course, mandela accomplished so many great things. he was the father of a nation. he led south africa through its battle against oppression and on to democracy and it kept him

away from home. he also stayed very close to his family as we've mentioned our robyn curnow has covered nelson mandela since 1996 and she joins us now, once again, live from johanns burg did talk to him ability his family. he had a lot of family to keep up with as well? >> reporter: absolutely. and i think nelson mandela would acknowledge it and his family will acknowledge it that he had a complicated family life, three marriages, lots of children and grandchildren and also said sometimes they don't get on so well. i mean, this has been perhaps, if you were to call his life some of it failures or mistakes, i think he would have acknowledged that the impact of his choices, of his political decisions had very, very far

reaching deep rooted impacts on his family on his private life. and i think those are still felt very much today, you know, when jacob zuma said late last night in south africa that south africa had lost a father. this nation claimed nelson mandela as their father. but i think it's at times like this you have to stop and remember that family who essentially lost him over and over and over again and they've lost a father today and i think that it will take a while for them to be able to process to be able to look at this time and say, you know, he was ours but mostly, he was everybody else else's. ♪ happy birthday to you. >> nelson mandela had a large family who gathered each year to sing at happy birthday. in return he sometimes offered advice. some of it useful, some of it

not. speaking to cnn in mandela's house during his 94th birthday celebrations. >> it had been raining, he was looking outside, i'm on my phone, he says, you know mbuso when i was young, i used to run outside naked in the rain. i think you should do that now. i started laughing. i started laughing. >> what a piece of advice. >> mandela was not only irref rant, rule mus. >> i am a yankee. >> reporter: and a life long rebel. he also taught his children about humility, in an interview in 2010. >> i remember one of my first trips was into the states when he was president. he was mobbed, as usual, by the people. one of the woman came up, shelves quite emotional and he was very quiet in the car and he said overnight, he was so very quiet, very enextive. he said, dashlgs did you see how

emotional that woman was? he says, i wonder why. >> reporter: winnie mandela was a small child when her dad was sent to prison on robben island. she only saw him again when she was a teenager t. original drafts he wrote his children in prison are archived in the mandela foundation. >> this is written to my darlings, his two young daughters. >> yes. >> and i loved the line here where he complements her for cooking rice and many other things and the most poignant thing in 1969, i'm looking forward to the day when i'll be able to enjoy all that she cooks. >> yes, a long way to go still. yeah. >> reporter: he wrote those letters in this cell with the strain of worrying about his family growing up without him is evident in his prison diaries transdescribed in 2008, mandela

recorded his dreams, a psych logical record of the dread, the anxiety he fell. >> imagine falling into a ditch, dreamt returning home late at night almost at dawn. embraced sickly zami as he enters the back door of our orlando home. she is about 2 years and swallowed a aizor blade which she vomits out. nearly three decades locked away from loved ones, taught him to bury those fears, said his granddaughter in 2012. >> he keeps his emotions very well guarded. understandably so. because for more than two decades, it's something that he could master and, yeah, and he keeps those close to his chest. >> reporter: inside his home during his 94th birthday celebrations, his other granddaughters rearranged family photographs, reminders that when he eventually did come home, 27

years later, nelson mandela found his family still there waiting for him i think what's going to be difficult for his family over the next ten days is to find that private time, that time for themself to say good bye. this is such a public passing with such a public man with such a community farewell planned over the next ten days. for them the struggle is going to be finding that spa is space say good-bye and to be able to to just think this through. i think for them they sometimes get angry at all the media intrusion and they say, he's ours, he's ours. you know, you media, you public, you shouldn't interfere in this particularly over these last three months when he was so sick. there was a dope sense of resentment people were prying into his private life and their

grief as they watched him slowly deteriorate. so i think, you know, there will be and i think a call for sank sank vr sank south average africans to give them some space. >> people will recall the struggle in the hospital they publicly expressed over that that you talk about. we certainly hope many of them were with him when he passed on. robyn curnow in johannesburg, we thank you. well, the man likely to be remembered as a great statesmen of all time had humble beginn g beginnings. ivan watson looks back at where it all began for nelson mandela. [ music playing ] >> reporter: these beautiful hills hide poverty and

oppression. it was here that until nel was born into the clan in 1918. soon after his father was stripped of his chieftan championship and they moved to another veg. mandela like the overwhelming majority of black south africans spent a childhood desperately poor and with little or no opportunity for advance. . it was the experience of dispossession and poverty her that fuelled nelson mandela's life long desire to oppose white supremacy and bring freedom to his people. he went to school in a hunt with the remains are still visible. his real like was trouble maker in his home language. but in the classroom the teacher gave him a white man's name nelson. he would also be known by the

traditional clan man mandiba. he was one of the lucky few to get a formal education. it was also among these hills the young man experienced african democracy first hand. he listened to council chiefs and elders debating issues for hours until they reached consensus on an issue. the traditional leader says this vital lesson influenced mandela years later as president when he helped shape south africa's modern democracy and reconciled blacks and whites. >> he has struggled both with the african and the balancing act that has been worked upon through mandela's leadership to insure that it ends in a peaceful and free country. >> reporter: in his 20s, mandela left rural life for johannesburg where he studied law and soon rose to political prominence but he was always proud of his heritage and he appeared in

court wearing traditional robes at the trial in 1964. it was a healing moment when his father's chieftanship was returned to the family in 2007 and handed to mandela's grandson mandola. he says family and planned history is pivotal to his grntd father's identity. >> we would like to tell the story of the mandela royal family within the greater nation and how it has existed over the many centuries and how it has played its role from one generation to another. it is those tradition and customs that seem to be the person that he became. >> reporter: when he retired from public life, mandela returned to live a quiet life in kunu. he celebrated his 91st birthday here, illness returned him to johannesburg to be better closer

to better medical care. despite the end of his long and historic life, the enduring legacy of his african culture and customs lives on. ivan watson, cnn. >> mr. mandela went on to become an international icon and a moral role model for government figures around the world. as australia's foreign minister was one of the first international officials to meet with the south african leader after his release from prison. he joins us online. thank you for speaking with us. you were there after those days he walked free. we all know essentially nelson mandela could have started a civil war, if you like, with the raise of a first, but yet he didn't, so what's your recollection of those days once he was set free?

>> well, it was immediately obvious to those who met him that the central driving force behind him was this absence of bitterness towards the south africana jailers with the previously 27 years and that was something that struck me immediately as the key to managing a successful transition if he could communicate that to the white minority and get them out of the mindset that he was a communist terrorist to be feared or despised. those first set of impressions he created, first international people he met the first time he was seen widely domestically is crucial. the first impressions were extraordinarily accurate. what is interesting about mandela, there is something about the man, his decency, his compassion, his capacity for forgiveness which just was luminous and i was just struck by it. i was entrenched by it.

i never met anyone more aggressive in my entire life. >> did you expect him to be so gracious and so forgiving when he walked from robben island. >> i don't think he had the speed. my concern was that, you know, all the expectations i had had couldn't possibly be realized in practice and i as a student protester of my generation how could this man be as iconic as we hoped he would be. but he was. that was the point. then we obtained from his background and the tribal village and listening to elders in that process of reconciliation. i don't know where it came from it was absolutely crucial and it was down into indicated effectively. the most transient spoorns i had was at the rugby stadium in south africa about three mobth later. it was in full flight. i was sitting with mandela, the

scene of the latest sentiment enfuelment. the crowd, 55,000 watched, hardly a black face inside. rugby was a white man's sport, chanting mendel la, mandela. i just was aspiring. he made one realize the extent to which he had captured the hearts and the mind, he had overcome that fear, that hatred, anxiety. >> you spent a lot of time in the rough and tumble of australian politics, actually years ago now. if you look at politics today, it's pretty much a zero sum game not only in australia but many parts of the world him on this day now that nelson mandela has died, the man that set so many example for so many of us. what do you think politicians can learn from his legacy? >> you know, making real progress in serving the real problems of humanity and our

countries isn't achieved by running politics. it's achieved through intelligence. it is achieved through grace. it is achieved through humanity. the media of the kind you guys are contributing to, it's very, very hard to do, to get people to stand back and think what are the bake issues? in all societies, there is a better standard of politics. if mandela's life and death can remind us of what those angels are and how important they are for avoiding the bloodshed that would have been inevitable in south africa then his life has been plagued with living indeed. >> someone called him once the president of the republic of morality. garrett evans, join us on the

line from combus campus. thank you so much for sharing your memories and insights. >> very nice comments from him. as we hear from all of these people and their reflections. we see the pictures of nelson mandela. i cannot decide which was the best when he walked out of prison or raised his hand? >> the dancing is still. world cup dancing. >> when we return, we will hear from south africa's last apartheid president. >> f.w. de klerk and the nobel peace prides with nelson mandela. we talk to de klerk when we return. . hmm. mm-hmm. [ engine revs ] sisulu.

s. >> it is coming up to 9:00 in the morning in south africa. welcome to our special edition of cnn newsroom, the world is mourning the death of nelson mandela. >> the former south african president and nobel prize laureat fell ill. he was 95, he proved he was strong in his youth, strong in middle age and a fighter to the end. >> he was ill for almost a year. the man who nelson mandela shares that '90-'93 nobel prize, he was the president of south africa in 1890. >> that is when he made the fateful decision to free the most political prisoner.

de klerk spoke on phone. >> christian, it's a sad day, a sad moment. it is good to hear your voice again. >> thank you, sir. please tell me and tell the world what you feel at this moment beyond the sadness and what you can say about the man who became your partner and you became his under extremely difficult circumstances to transform your country? >> first, i would like to say that i fully associate myself with the dignified and feeling statement which the president has made. every word of what he said is true and he touched my heart. his biggest nelson mandela biggest legacy was his commitment to reconciliation was his remarkable lack of bitterness and the way in which he did not only talk about reconciliation, but he made

reconciliation happen in south africa. he was a remarkable man and south africa not withstanding political differences stand united today in mourning this great special man. >> mr. de klerk, what did, walk me back to when you summoned him from the word prison when you first met him, why did you do that? what was going on then? and what did you think of him when he came into your presence the first time? >> it was that first meeting that we had was intended and i think the same intention just to get the feel of each other because it was already clear then there would be negotiation. it was already clear it would be remiss. no dates were fixed. no specific announcements were made. but he has been talking even in

the time of my predecessor through four important role players within the government and the national party. having talks about talks, discussing the possibility of negotiation. we are talking about the real issues, which would be negotiated about later on but exploring the probability of negotiation and both of us after that first meeting wrote in our perspective auto biographies that we would report back to our constituencies, i think i can do business with this man. there was an immediate i would say a spark between the two of us and not withstanding the many stats we have later, i always respected him and i always liked him as a person. he was a magnanimous person. he was a compassionate pen. he was not only a man of vision,

not only a night leader. but he was also a very human, human man. >> in the end you both won a nobel peace prides for that work for bringing democracy to south africa. there you were the white president of a minority regime and this towering moral figure came into your presence. what did you feel when you first saw him? what did he look like? >> ah, he, i was, i studied a lot about him. i was briefed by those who were speaking to him while he was still in brinprison, but he impressed me, he was taller than i expected. he was ramrod straight. he looked one in the eye very directly. he was a good listener. i could to immediately see that he had an analytical approach to discussions, which i liked very much. i was very much impressed with

him at that first meeting. >> p.w. de klerk. with more on the life of the nelson mandela, go to cnn.com/mandela. you can find photo galleries, a quote gallery and much more. >> much more incredible live and the special coverage of the death of nelson mandela continues right here on cnn. >> we will have much more on his life and legacy ahead. stay with us. .

[ male announcer ] more than a security system, adt can help you turn on a few lights. ♪ access cameras from anywhere to help you keep an eye on things. ♪ even bring family in from the cold when you're not there.