On this day in 1994 newly elected President of South Africa Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress announced victory in the nation's first democratic all race elections, ending decades of white dominated rule.

South Africans had been living under the apartheid system which separated life for black and white people since the election of hardline nationalists in 1948.

For Mandela abolishing apartheid, establishing universal suffrage and holding free democratic elections had been a life long goal which he received the Nobel Peace Prize, in conjunction with National Party President FW de Klerk, in 1993.

The win is also more impressive as Mandela had only been release from prison four years before, where he had been serving a life sentence for inciting armed revolution against white dominated rule in 1964.

In the 1994 election win Mandela and the ANC won 62 per-cent of the national vote.

The ANC would be returned at the next election in 2000 after Mandela retired and again in 2004 with an increased margin of 69 per-cent.

Currently Nelson Madela is an AIDS campaigner, raising money with his 46664 AIDS campaign. 46664 was Mandela's prisoner number during his time in jail.