List of dignitaries at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2013) |
This is a list of dignitaries at the state memorial service of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa.[1] Mandela died on 5 December 2013. Many heads of state and government attended the state memorial service on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The memorial service was one of the largest gatherings of world leaders.[2] It was also the largest funeral in the history of South Africa, and the African continent itself.
Two UN secretaries-general, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, two French presidents, four United States presidents, and four UK prime ministers attended the funeral service. In total, more than 500 VIP dignitaries from 19 supranational organizations and approximately 190 countries had arrived for this event. Some of the dignitaries later attended the burial ceremony on 15 December 2013 at Mandela's hometown, Qunu.
This memorial event was one of the largest in the world in terms of foreign leaders, along with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
Dignitaries
[edit]Heads of state and government
[edit]
Other royalty
[edit]| Country | Title | Dignitary |
|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
Queen | Queen Mathilde |
 Denmark |
Crown Prince | Prince Frederik |
 Japan |
Crown Prince | Prince Naruhito |
 Jordan |
Queen Consort | Queen Rania |
  Monaco |
Princess Consort | Princess Charlene[a] |
 Morocco |
Prince | Prince Moulay Rachid |
 Norway |
Crown Prince | Prince Haakon |
 Saudi Arabia |
Prince | Prince Muqrin |
 Spain |
Crown Prince | Prince Felipe |
 Sweden |
Crown Princess | Princess Victoria |
 United Kingdom |
Prince of Wales | Prince Charles |
| United Kingdom |
Duke of Cambridge | Prince William |
| United Kingdom |
Prince | Prince Harry |
Government representatives
[edit]| Country | Title | Dignitary |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa |
Deputy President | Kgalema Motlanthe |
 Algeria |
Speaker of the Council of the Nation | Abdelkader Bensalah |
 Angola |
Vice-president | Manuel Vicente |
 Antigua and Barbuda |
High Commissioner | Carl Ruberts |
| Ambassador | Robert Murdoch | |
 Argentina |
Vice-president | Amado Boudou |
 Barbados |
Foreign Minister | Maxine McClean |
 Belarus |
Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives | Viktor Guminsky[12] |
 British Virgin Islands |
Foreign Minister | Orlando Smith |
 Bulgaria |
Deputy Prime Minister | Angel Velichkov |
 Canada |
Nova Scotia Premier | Stephen McNeil |
| Premier of the Yukon | Darrell Pasloski | |
| Alberta Premier | Alison Redford | |
| NDP Leader | Tom Mulcair | |
| Foreign Minister | John Baird | |
 Central African Republic |
Deputy Prime Minister | Samuel Rangba |
 China |
Vice-president | Li Yuanchao[13] |
 Colombia |
Vice-president | Angelino Garzón |
 Cuba |
Foreign Minister | Bruno Rodriguez |
 Czech Republic |
Foreign Minister | Jan Kohout |
 Ecuador |
Foreign Minister | Ricardo Patiño |
 Estonia |
Foreign Minister | Urmas Paet[14] |
 Ethiopia |
State Minister | Surafiel Mhreteab Abed |
 France |
Minister of Foreign and European Affairs | Laurent Fabius[15] |
| Minister of Justice | Christiane Taubira | |
 Greece |
Minister of National Defence | Dimitris Avramopoulos |
 Holy See |
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace | Peter Cardinal Turkson |
 Hungary |
Deputy Prime Minister | Zsolt Semjén |
 India |
Chairperson of the National Advisory Council | Sonia Gandhi[16] |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | Anand Sharma | |
| Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha | Sushma Swaraj | |
 Iran |
Vice-president | Mohammad Shariatmadari |
 Ireland |
Tánaiste | Eamon Gilmore[7] |
 Israel |
President of the Knesset | Yuli-Yoel Edelstein |
| Knesset representatives | 5 Speakers | |
 Italy |
President of the Chamber of Deputies | Laura Boldrini |
 Lesotho |
Foreign Minister | Mohlabi Tsekoa |
 Lithuania |
Government Representative | Gitanas Nausėda |
 Malawi |
Foreign Minister | Ephraim Chiume |
 Malaysia |
Minister of the Federal Territories | Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor[17] |
| Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water | Maximus Ongkili | |
 Netherlands |
Foreign Minister | Frans Timmermans |
 Nicaragua |
Vice-president | Moises Omar Halleslevens Acevedo |
 Poland |
Foreign Minister | Radosław Sikorski |
 Peru |
Vice-president | Marisol Espinoza[citation needed] |
 Philippines |
Vice-president | Jejomar Binay[18] |
 Russia |
Chairwoman of the Federation Council | Valentina Matviyenko |
 Singapore |
Deputy Prime Minister | Tharman Shanmugaratnam[19] |
 Slovakia |
Foreign Minister | Miroslav Lajcak |
 Sudan |
Vice-president | Bakri Hassan Salih |
 Turkey |
Deputy Prime Minister | Beşir Atalay[20] |
 Ukraine |
Foreign Minister | Leonid Kozhara |
 United Arab Emirates |
Minister of Culture | Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan |
| United Kingdom |
Deputy Prime Minister | Nick Clegg[21] |
| Leader of the Opposition | Ed Miliband | |
| Mayor of London | Boris Johnson | |
| Speaker of the House of Commons | John Bercow | |
| Health Secretary | Jeremy Hunt | |
 United States |
Attorney General | Eric Holder |
| National Security Advisor | Susan Rice[11] | |
| Senator from Texas | Ted Cruz | |
| United States Congress representatives | 26 members of Congress | |
 US Virgin Islands |
Deputy Minister | Donna Christian Christensen |
 Tanzania |
Foreign Minister | Bernard Membe |
| Representative from Chama Cha Mapinduzi | Vicky Swai | |
 Vietnam |
Chairman of the Presidential Office | Đào Việt Trung |
 Zambia |
Vice-president | Guy Scott |
| Foreign Minister | Wilbur Simuusa | |
 Zimbabwe |
Deputy Prime Minister | Simbarashe Mumbengegwi |
International organisations
[edit]
Former heads of state / government
[edit]| Country / Org | Title | Dignitary |
|---|---|---|
 Australia |
Former Prime Minister | Paul Keating |
 Brazil |
31st President | José Sarney |
| 32nd President | Fernando Collor de Mello | |
| 34th President | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | |
| 35th President | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | |
| Canada |
16th Prime Minister | Joe Clark |
| 18th Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney | |
| 19th Prime Minister | Kim Campbell | |
| 20th Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien | |
| 26th Governor General | Adrienne Clarkson | |
| 27th Governor General | Michaëlle Jean | |
| Colombia |
30th President | Andrés Pastrana[22] |
 Finland |
10th President | Martti Ahtisaari |
| 40th Prime Minister | Matti Vanhanen | |
| France |
23rd President | Nicolas Sarkozy |
| 164th Prime Minister | Alain Juppé | |
| 165th Prime Minister | Lionel Jospin | |
 Germany |
13th President | Horst Köhler |
 Ghana |
1st President (Fourth Republic) | Jerry Rawlings |
| Iran |
5th President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Ireland |
7th President | Mary Robinson[7] |
| Former Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern | |
| Italy |
Former Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Japan |
58th Prime Minister | Yasuo Fukuda |
 Namibia |
1st President | Sam Nujoma |
 New Zealand |
35th Prime Minister | Jim Bolger |
 Nigeria |
1st President (Fourth Republic) | Olusegun Obasanjo |
| 11th Vice President | Atiku Abubakar | |
| Norway |
27th Prime Minister | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Poland |
2nd President | Lech Wałęsa |
 Romania |
3rd President | Emil Constantinescu |
| Russia |
Former Soviet President | Mikhail Gorbachev |
| South Africa |
State President / 1st Deputy President | Frederik Willem De Klerk |
| 2nd President | Thabo Mbeki | |
| 3rd President | Kgalema Motlanthe | |
| United Kingdom |
former Prime Minister | John Major |
| former Prime Minister | Tony Blair | |
| former Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | |
| United States |
39th President | Jimmy Carter[11] |
| 42nd President | Bill Clinton[11] | |
| 43rd President | George W. Bush[11] | |
| Tanzania |
Former Vice President | Ali Mohamed Shein |
| Zambia |
1st President | Kenneth Kaunda |
 African Union |
Former President | Alpha Oumar Konare |
 United Nations |
7th Secretary General | Kofi Annan |
Other guests
[edit]
This section is a partial list of notable guests who attended the memorial service.
- Bono, Irish U2 vocalist and activist[23]
- Richard Branson, British businessman, founder of Virgin Group[23]
- Laura Bush, former First Lady, spouse of former US President George W. Bush
- Naomi Campbell, British model[23]
- Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton
- Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State[11] (Governmental representatives).
- Peter Gabriel, British singer[23]
- Bill Gates, American businessman, founder and president of Microsoft[21]
- Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, minister, and politician
- Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State (Governmental representatives).
- Annie Lennox, British singer-songwriter[21]
- Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player[23]
- Charlize Theron, South African-American actress[23]
- Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican Archbishop[21]
- Oprah Winfrey, American television personality and actress[21]
Non-attendance
[edit]
Germany: Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who frequently attended funerals of world leaders during his term of office, did not attend. Germany's former leaders did not usually attend world leaders' funerals.
Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was expected to attend the service but had to cancel his visit due to the visit of his Russian counterpart in Tehran.[24]
Israel: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not attend the memorial service citing financial and security reasons.[25]
Republic of China (Taiwan): The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to not send a delegation because of the time constraint. Instead, Foreign Minister David Lin personally visited the Liaison Office of South Africa to convey condolences over the death of Mandela. In addition, the Representative of the ROC to South Africa visited the Union Buildings in Pretoria to view the remains of Mandela and pay respects on behalf of the ROC government.[26]
Thailand: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was expected to attend but declined due to ongoing protests against her government.
Tibet: The 14th Dalai Lama was expected to attend the service but was denied a visa by the South African government.[27]
The Vatican: Pope Francis was sent an invitation to attend either the memorial or state funeral.[27] He did not attend either because it was against the tradition that Popes do not usually attend funerals of world leaders.
Vietnam: President Trương Tấn Sang did not attend the service due to the time constraint. The country was represented by Đào Việt Trung, Chairman of the Presidential Office.
References
[edit]- ^ Charlene was a native citizen of South Africa before her marriage to Prince Albert II.
- ^ "Confirmation of foreign Heads of State and Government attending the memorial services or funeral". South Africa Government Online. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "About 70 Heads of State to attend Mandela's memorial service". sanews.gov.za. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ "Afghan president leaves for South Africa to attend Mandela's memorial service – Xinhua | English.news.cn". Big5.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Botswana president to attend memorial service for Mandela in South Africa – Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ 10 December 2013. "Gambia: President Jammeh to Attend Mandela's Memorial Service". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Mukherjee to attend Mandela's memorial service in Johannesburg today". Newstrackindia.com. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ a b c Higgins, Gilmore in SA for Mandela service Irish Times, 2013-12-09.
- ^ Kronprinsen og Solberg på Mandela-minneseremoni TV2. Retrieved 9 December 2013 (in Norwegian)
- ^ Victor Ponta with Barack Obama in South Africa. Retrieved 10 December 2013
- ^ "Prince and President to attend Mandela's memorial – Euro Weekly News Spain". euroweeklynews.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Obama, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton Share Flight to South Africa. The New York Times. 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Guminsky to attend Mandela's memorial events in South Africa – Politics – Belarus News | Belarusian news | Belarus today | news in Belarus | Minsk news | BELTA". News.belta.by. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Chinese VP to attend Mandela's funeral". China Daily. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Paet to Represent Estonia at Mandela Memorial Ceremony Tuesday | News | ERR". News. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Hommage à Mandela: une centaine de personnalités à la cérémonie de Soweto". The Huffington Post. 9 December 2013.
- ^ "President, Sonia leave for Mandela memorial service". The Times of India. 9 December 2013.
- ^ Two ministers to attend Mandela state funeral
- ^ Binay leaves for Mandela funeral
- ^ "Singapore deputy PM to attend state memorial service for Nelson Mandela – Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Mandela'nın cenazesine Beşir Atalay katılıyor". BBC. 10 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Nelson Mandela memorial guest list. The Daily Telegraph. 10 December 2013.
- ^ EFE (8 December 2013). "Comisión colombiana parte a Sudáfrica para asistir a funeral de Nelson Mandela" (in Spanish). El Espectador. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Obama, Castro shake hands as world says farewell to peacemaker Mandela. Reuters. 10 December 2013.
- ^ Uimonen, Paula (1 January 2015). "Mourning Mandela: sacred drama and digital visuality in Cape Town". Journal of Aesthetics & Culture. 7 (1): 28178. doi:10.3402/jac.v7.28178. ISSN 2000-4214. S2CID 162905653.
- ^ "Netanyahu Won't Attend Mandela Memorial". www.israelnationalnews.com. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ "No invite needed for Mandela's funeral – the China Post". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ a b Nelson Mandela memorial guest list Daily Telegraph, 10 December 2013.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela.
- Images of the Memorial Service on Flickr
- SABC coverage of Nelson Mandela Memorial Service on YouTube
