diba was a manan for all seasons.ner his release from prison 1990, he was awarded the nobel andst -- nobel peace prize served as president for five years. the power of mandela could not be captured in a snapshot. it was also the man himself. he was a quiet man in many ways, but with great power to influence. a father of six who is also a father of a nation. he was born in 1918 in a small village of the eastern cape of south africa. his work against apartheid policies grew in the coming years. in 1963, he was put on trial for plotting to overthrow the government with pilots. he said at the trial, i have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. it is an ideal which i hope to live for and to achieve. but if i need be, it is an ideal for which i am prepared to die. after he stepped down as president, he worked tirelessly to promote his agenda of the quality -- equality. to engage in quiet reflection. survived by his wife, machel, and t

july,ear, on the 18th of the world comes together to celebrate mandela day, diba's selfless sacrificeas one of a kind. [speaking a foreign language] [speaking a foreign language] [speaking a foreign language] [speaking a foreign language] compatriots and friends, by kindg madiba was one of a we also remember that he believed in collective leadership and that he never messiaho be viewed as a or a saint. that all his achievements were derived from working with the anc collective "om whom, in his own words, man and woman more capable than he was." that is the south africa you see today, the reflection of a ma him and many others like who sacrificed their lives for a free nation. with that, we remain truly grateful to his peers. and countless others who left indelible marks in the history of our struggle. compatriots in france, -- and friends, today madiba is no more. he leaves behind a nation that loves him dearly. he leaves behind a continent that is truly proud to call him an african. of thees the people him as theirbrace own beloved icon. most importantly, he leaves behind a deeply en

much of the rest of the world today i hope remembers man diba not only for -- madiba, not only for what his years of sacrifice meant but for how he used those years to bring peace in the last place where peace was expected. i thank the gentleman for leading us tonight. mr. fattah: i thank the gentlewoman for her extraordinary contributions to this. we -- to this remarkable occurrence in our lifetime, to see mandela and his transformation from prisoner to president. i have something more to say about that as we close. but i want to recognize the gentlelady from the great state of new york, our new ambassador hails from the community of new york and is doing an extraordinary job. i want to recognize congresswoman yvette clarke who has the best birthday in the world because she shares it with me. yvette clarke. yes. 2 1/2 minutes. >> i stand to honor the memory of president nelson mandela of south africa. his commitment to wrussties, equality and the right to human dignity that must be afforded to each individual person afforded him a moral thorget that could not be denied. ms. clarke: nel

, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, when our best laid plans are beyond our reach, let us diba words that brought him comfort within the four walls of his cell. it matters not how straight the gate, how charged the punishment , i am the master of my fate, athem -- i am the captain of my soul. what a magnificent soul it was. we will miss him deeply. may god bless the memory of nelson mandela. may god bless the people of south africa. >> you can see more from nelson on ela's memorial service our companion station, c-span2, starting in about 40 minutes. ong the speakers, along with president obama. and later today, secretary of state john kerry on the iran nuclear deal. >> we're asking you to give our negotiators and our experts the time and the space to do their jobs. and that includes asking you while we negotiate that you hold off imposing new sanctions. now i'm not saying never. i just told you a few minutes ago, if this doesn't work we're coming back and asking you for more. i'm just saying not right now. let me be very clear. this is a very delicate diplomatic moment. we hav