The Mandela family is a South African

political dynasty A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple sibli ...

and chiefly family. Its most prominent member was

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, who served as

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

from 1994 to 1999.

History

The Mandelas are direct descendants of the AmaHala ruling dynasty of the

Thembu people The AbaThembu (''abaThembu ababhuzu-bhuzu, abanisi bemvula ilanga libalele'') are a Xhosa-speaking Bantu people who were under the Thembu Kingdom. According to Bantu oral tradition, the AbaThembu migrated along the east coast of Southern Africa ...

; as a result, their leader has traditionally had a hereditary claim to both membership of the Thembu king's

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

of the town of

Mvezo Mvezo is a small village on the banks of the Mbashe River, not far from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The village is mainly known as being the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, whose family serves as its chiefly dynasty A dyn ...

that is subject to his authority. The family was started in the 18th century, when King

Ngubengcuka Ngubengcuka Aa! Ndaba!, also known as Vusani, (c. 1790 – 10 August 1830) was the king of the abaThembu, in the eastern-southern part of Xhosaland ( Eastern Cape). Ngubengcuka succeeded his father, Ndaba, as king in 1810. Known as ''Inkosi Enk ...

of the Thembus married and left a son named Mandela, the first of the direct line to bear the name. Prince Mandela was a son of a woman that belonged to the ''Ixhiba'' clan, a ritually inferior family when compared to his father's AmaHalas, and therefore his

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

of the dynasty was deemed to be

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

. Due to this, in lieu of having a place in the line of succession, he and his heirs were recognized as privy councillors thereafter. The prince's own son, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela, was later also given the title of the chief of Mvezo by his relative, the king of

Thembuland Thembuland, af, Temboeland, is a natural region in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Its territory is the traditional region of the abaThembu, one of the states of the Xhosa nation. It was formerly also known as "Tamboekieland" or "Tam ...

, as a further marker of the family's eminence. After being lost in the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era, this chieftaincy has since been restored to the Mandelas. During the title's

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. ...

, the claim to it passed to Chief Mandela's son

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, who would never inherit it. Following his renunciation of it in order to become active in the anti-Apartheid movement, it would later pass to his sons Thembekile and Makgatho, and following their own early deaths, to Makgatho's son

Mandla Mandla is a city with municipality in Mandla district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandla District. The city is situated in a loop of the Narmada River, which surrounds it on three sides, and ...

. Chief Mandla Mandela would ultimately succeed to the title in 2007 following its restoration.

Prominent members

* President

, anti-Apartheid activist, humanitarian and head of state * Dr.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She ser ...

M.P., anti-Apartheid activist and politician, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela * Princess

Zenani Mandela-Dlamini Princess Zenani Mandela-Dlamini (born 5 February 1959) is a South African diplomat and traditional aristocrat. She is the sister-in-law of the King of eSwatini, Mswati III, and the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his second wife, Winnie Mande ...

eSwatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, diplomat and Swazi princess, daughter of Nelson Mandela * Ambassador

Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane Zindziswa "Zindzi" Mandela (23 December 196013 July 2020), also known as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane, was a South African diplomat and poet, and the daughter of anti-apartheid activists and politicians Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. ...

, diplomat, daughter of Nelson Mandela * Chief

Mandla Mandela Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, MP (born 21 June 1974) is the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He graduated from Rhodes University with a degree in Politics in 2007. Succession to the chieftaincy ...

M.P., politician and traditional aristocrat, grandson of Nelson Mandela (through Makgatho)

Other members

* Prince Cedza Dlamini, Swazi prince and humanitarian, step-grandson of Nelson Mandela (through Zenani) *

Evelyn Mase Evelyn Ntoko Mase (18 May 1922 – 30 April 2004), later named Evelyn Rakeepile, was a South African nurse. She was the first wife of the anti-apartheid activist and the future president Nelson Mandela, to whom she was married from 1944 to 1958 ...

, nurse, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela * Dr.

Graça Machel Graça Machel (; née Simbine; , born 17 October 1945) is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the widow of former President of Mozambique Samora Machel (1975–1986) and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela (1998– ...

D.B.E., politician and humanitarian, widow of Nelson Mandela *

Makaziwe Mandela Pumla Makaziwe "Maki" Mandela-Amuah (born 1 May 1954) is the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Mase. Early life and education Makaziwe Mandela was born into a family of chieftains. Her father Nelson was a direct descendant o ...

, businesswoman, daughter of Nelson Mandela *

Makgatho Mandela Makgatho Lewanika Mandela (26 June 1950 – 6 January 2005) was the son of Nelson Mandela and his first wife Evelyn Mase. He is the father of Ndaba Mandela. He died of AIDS on 6 January 2005 in Johannesburg. Circumstances surrounding his death H ...

, lawyer, son of Nelson Mandela *

Ndaba Mandela Ndaba Thembekile Zweliyajika Mandela (born 23 December 1982) is an author, mentor, spokesperson, entrepreneur, political consultant, and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He was born in Soweto, South Africa. Mandela is currently the co-founder and ...

, humanitarian, grandson of Nelson Mandela (through Makgatho) * Ndileka Mandela, activist, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela (through Thembekile) * Thembekile Mandela, son of Nelson Mandela * Zoleka Mandela, writer and activist, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela (through Zindzi)

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

*Guiloineau, Jean; Rowe, Joseph (2002). Nelson Mandela: The Early Life of Rolihlahla Madiba. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books. pp. 9–26. ISBN 978-1-55643-417-4. * Lodge, Tom (2006). Mandela: A Critical Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921935-3. Political families African royal families African dynasties