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Biography of Oliver Reginald TamboName: Oliver Reginald TamboBirth Date: October 27, 1917 Death Date: April 24, 1993 Place of Birth: Pondoland, South Africa Nationality: South African Gender: Male Occupations: president, spokesperson, activist Oliver Reginald Tambo Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-1993) was, as acting president of the African National Congress (ANC), a principal spokesman for the Black African opposition to apartheid in South Africa. He remained active in the ANC, ultimately living to witness the political end of apartheid in the early 1990s.Born in poverty of peasant parents in Pondoland in 1917, Oliver Reginald Tambo's early education was at St. Peter's School in Johannesburg. He won a scholarship to Fort Hare, the only college Blacks could attend, where he studied science. He was expelled in 1939 for participating in a student strike but later studied law by correspondence and qualified as an attorney in 1952. He and another Black leader, Nelson Mandela, then began a law partnership in Johannesburg.In the early 1940s Tambo joined the African National Congress, an organization founded in 1912 that opposed white supremacy. Dissatisfied with the ANC's moderation, Tambo, Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Anton Lembede helped …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…State George Shultz in early 1987. The ANC approached the status of a government-in-exile, although Tambo maintained that there were other groups that had claims of influence in a post-apartheid South Africa and that Nelson Mandela was the ANC's legitimate leader. When Mandela was released from prison in late 1989, Tambo assumed the post of Chairman of the ANC. Mandela took over the presidency. Tambo died of a stroke on April 24, 1993, at the age of 75, following his eight-hour attendance at the funeral of Chris Hani, murdered a few days earlier. Associated Organizations Further Reading There is no biography of Tambo. Much information can be found in Mary Benson, The Struggle for a Birthright (1966) and Nelson Mandela (1986); Peter Walshe, The Rise of African Nationalism in South Africa (1970); and Tom Lodge, Black Politics in South Africa since 1945 (1983). A moderately-comprehensive biographical entry also can be found in Brockman, Norbert C., An African Biographical Dictionary (ABC-CLIO, 1994). |