NELSON MANDELA 1918 - 2013: Freedom fighter, prisoner, president, global icon - the world mourns passing of man who freed his country and became an inspiration to billions

Nelson Mandela has died at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa aged 95.
The icon of the struggle against apartheid died at 6.50pm UK time yesterday surrounded by close family.

Mandela's death came nearly five months he was admitted to hospital with a lung infection.
Despite being allowed to return home three months ago, South Africa's first black president has not been able to move from a bedroom described as being a 'virtual 24 hour intensive care unit' and has needed a ventilator to breath.

In a televised address, South African president Jacob Zuma confirmed Nelson Mandela has died aged 95

Rumors of Mr Mandela's increasing discomfort started circulating in the early afternoon of yesterday as increasing numbers of Mandela family members arrived at the former president's large Johannesburg home.
South Africa's president Jacob Zuma announced the long-expected death in a special television broadcast last night.
Mr Zuma said: 'Our nation has lost its greatest son.'

Mandela was himself uneasy with the idea of being an icon and he did not escape criticism as an individual and a politician, though much of it was muted by his status as a unassailable symbol of decency and principle

Remarkable: His death closed the final chapter in South Africa's struggle to cast off apartheid, leaving the world with indelible memories of a man of astonishing grace and good humor

Historic: As South Africa's first black president, the ex-boxer, lawyer and prisoner No. 46664 paved the way to racial reconciliation with well-chosen gestures of forgiveness

Nation's greatest son: Nelson Mandela lifts the World Cup trophy in Zurich, Switzerland, after FIFA's executive committee announced that South Africa would host the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. South Africa's 'Greatest Son' died Thursday at 95

Symbol: Nelson Mandela, pictured at his South African home in 2010, 'triumphed as a symbol of national reconciliation between South Africa's races'

'What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.
'Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell.'
The White House said tonight that the president is expected to travel to South Africa for Mandela's state funeral along with other world leaders.
Although the increasingly frail statesman had been in an out of hospital over the past five years, he was last rushed to hospital on June 8th this year.
He was initially treated for a lung infection, but with three weeks his condition, it was announced, had turned 'critical'.
The South African government has never disclosed the full extent of his illness, but reputable news sources revealed that his liver and kidneys were functioning at just 50 per cent.
South African media reported that he was on ventilation and undergoing regular renal dialysis.
Nelson Mandela was one of the world's most admired and beloved political leaders, an icon of the redemptive power of reconciliation.
The former lawyer spent 27 years in apartheid prisons for his political beliefs before becoming South Africa's first black president.
His critical role in both achieving full democracy in South Africa and then keeping the peace when it arrived in 1994 earned him a Nobel Peace Prize.
But it was the magnanimity he showed his former oppressors - coupled with an intense personal charm - that has earned him admirers all over the globe.

Eery: Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, left, meets Zindzi Mandela, right, the daughter of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, as they attend the Royal Film Performance of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom just before Mandela's death Thursday at 95

Zindzi Mandela the daughter of Nelson Mandela poses for photographers as she arrives to attend the UK premiere of her father's biopic. Reports at the time of his death said his daughter only learned the news while in the theater

Ominous timing: Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meets Zindzi Mandela, right, the daughter of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, as they attend the UK premier of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in London

Sad day: (L to R) Tony Kgoroge, Naomie Harris, Zindzi Mandela, her sister Zenani, and Idris Elba pose for photographers at the UK Premiere of 'Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom' in London. The sisters reportedly learned of their father's death while watching the film

An honor: 'It's something that makes me feel really proud that what my family went through and the role my father played has been recognised,' Zindzi said of the film and of meeting the Duke and Duchess

Nelson Mandela, former South African President, is pictured during a visit by former U.S. president Bill Clinton on July 17, 2012 at his home in Qunu, Eastern Cape, on the eve of his 94th birthday