By the time of his death, Mandela had come to be widely considered "the father of the nation" within South Africa. He is also seen as "the national liberator, the savior, its Washington and Lincoln rolled into one". Throughout his life, Mandela had also faced criticism. Margaret Thatcher attracted international attention for describing the ANC as "a typical terrorist organization" in 1987. She later made favors to release Mandela from prison. Mandela has also been criticized for his friendship with political leaders such as Fidel Castro, Muammar Gaddafi, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Suharto.