Yeah. And he (unlike Martha and others) admitted what he intended at his trial, did his time with dignity and apparently even learned some wisdom over the years. I know Mandela is a hard core lefty, but he did not become the dictator I thought he would. He surrendered power, very unusual in Africa. Would that his successors were so wise.
Mandela was powerless when he got out of jail. Everyone in the world knew he was a communist and no country or business would invest in South Africa.