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Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born October 7, 1931) is a South African peace activist who rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s through his opposition to apartheid. He was the first black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa.
He was born in Klerksdorp, South Africa, and moved with his family to Johannesburg aged 12. Though he wanted to become a physician, his family could not afford this training and he took up teaching - studying from 1951-1953 and teaching 1954-1958.
In 1955 he married Leah Nomalizo Tutu. They have four children: Trevor Thamsanqa, Theresa Thandeka, Naomi Nontombi and Mpho Andrea. Because of poor education prospects for black people at the time, in 1961 Tutu became an anglican priest. From 1962 to 1966 Tutu lived with his family in London; back in South Africa, he began a university career at the University of Fort Hare. In the 1970s he used his lectures to highlight the situation of the black population. and became, as high point, 1975 Deacon of Johannesburg. He wrote a letter Prime Minister Voster, in which he described the situation in South Africa as a "powder barrel that can explode at any time". This letter remained unanswered.
In 1976, the pupil and student rebellion in Soweto began. From now on he supported an economic boycott of his country. 1976 saw Tutu as bishop of Lesotho and in 1978 Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. With that position Tutu could continue his work with agreement of nearly all churches against apartheid, which he did by his publications and journeys abroad. Tutu constantly preached of a reconciliation between both sides.
On October 16, 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Later he headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa on September 7, 1986.
Tutu believes the treatment of Palestinians by the Jewish state of Israel is a form of apartheid (). He has repeatedly called upon the Israeli government to respect the human dignity of the Palestinian people, whether Muslim or Christian. He has also criticised human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, calling Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe a "caricature of an African dictator", and criticising the South African government's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe.
Commenting days after the August 5, 2003 The Episcopal Church gay bishop ordination, Desmond Tutu said that he does not see what "all the fuss" is about: "For us that doesn't make a difference, the sexual orientation."
External links
- The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre
- Nobel e-Museum Desmond Tutu biography