Despite retiring from politics in 1999, Nelson Mandela continued to have an active public life, remaining a global icon.
Nelson Mandela is overwhelmed by the vote of thanks made by the African National Congress (ANC) after his speech to delegates at the ANC's convention in Stellenbosch, Cape Town on December 17 2002. (Obed Zilwa, AP)
Nelson Mandela, left, talks to Thabo Mbeki, right, during an election rally in Soweto on April 4 2004. (Themba Hadebe, AP)
Nelson Mandela waves as he arrives at an election rally in Soweto on April 4 2004. (Themba Hadebe, AP)
Former US President George W Bush meets with Nelson Mandela in the Oval Office of the White House on May 17 2005. Mandela said that he backed Bush's call for global 'liberty' but disagreed with some of his methods. (Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela smiles at well-wishers as he meets staff from the Robben Island Museum in Cape Town on June 17 2005. Mandela spent 17 of his 27-year incarceration on the island. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela, Albertina Sisulu and then South African President Thabo Mbeki join in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of South Africa's Freedom Charter in Kliptown, Soweto on June 26 2005. The Freedom Charter laid the foundation for multi-racial democracy and also called for economic equality that still proves elusive. (Mujahid Safodien, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça Machel wave to the cowd at the "Africa Standing Tall against Poverty" concert in Johannesburg on July 2 2005. A galaxy of rock 'n roll stars graced stages across the globe to put pressure on leaders of the Group of Eight to do more to alleviate poverty, particularly in Africa. (Howard Burditt, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela and wife Graça Machel celebrate his 87th bithday in Johannesburg on July 19 2005. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela greets youths gathered to wish him happy birthday at a function organised by his children's fund in Johannesburg on July 20 2005. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela is greeted by 46664 ambassadors -- soccer player Lucas Radebe and former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar -- ahead of the final rugby match of the Mandela Challenge Plate at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on July 23 2005. (Reuters)
Nelson Mandela meets with students who were awarded the Nelson Mandela Scholarship at the Nelson Mandela children's fund office in Houghton, Johannesburg on January 31 2006. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela shares a joke with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his house in Johannesburg on February 12 2006. Blair paid a courtesy call on Mandela following the two day Progressive Governance Summit that was held in the country. (Howard Burditt, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan share a joke with journalists after their meeting in Johannesburg on March 15 2006. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela poses with actor Presley Chwenneyagae (left), actress Terry Pheto (right) and director Gavin Hood of the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi at his home in Cape Town on March 16 2006. Tsotsi won for Best Foreign Film and is the first South African film to receive the award. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Nobel Peace laureates Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu arrive for the 70th birthday celebration of fellow laureate FW de Klerk in Cape Town on March 17 2006. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shares a light moment with Nelson Mandela after their meeting at Mandela's home in Johannesburg on April 1 2006. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela greets children who gathered in Johannesburg to celebrate his birthday on July 21 2006. Mandela turned 88 on July 18 2006. (Antony Kaminju, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela waves to the audience next to former President Thabo Mbeki before the start of the 4th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at Wits Univesirty in Johannesburg on July 29 2006. Mbeki delivered the lecture, as part of a series by distinguished speakers on social challenges such as poverty, the environment and peace. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela shares a joke with Banyana Banyana team manager Fran Hilton-Smith at his office in Johannesburg on October 24 2006. The South African women soccer team met the former president ahead of the fifth African Women's soccer championships in Nigeria. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela congratulates Adelaide Tambo, widow of the late Oliver Tambo, during the renaming ceremony of the Johannesburg International Airport to OR Tambo International Airport on October 27 2006. Oliver Reginald Tambo was former president of the ANC. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammed Ali, shares a joke with Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg on January 30 2007. Laila Ali met Mandela before her fight with Gwendon O'Neil at Emperor's Palace on February 3. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela laughs after a meeting with boxer Gwendon O'Neil in Johannesburg on January 31 2007. O'Neil met Mandela before her fight with Laila Ali at Emperor's Palace on February 3. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela shares a light moment with his wife, Graça Machel, at the funeral of Adelaide Tambo in Wattville outside Johannesburg, on February 10 2007. Adelaide Tambo, the widow of ANC stalwart Oliver Tambo, and a hero of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement in her own right, died in her Johannesburg home at the age of 77. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça Machel arrive for a ceremony where his grandson Mandla Mandela was installed as chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council in Mvezo, Eastern Cape about 1100km south of Johannesburg on April 16 2007. Mandla was draped in lion's skin at a ceremony that anointed the 32-year-old as Mandela's heir. (Antony Kaminju, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela makes a speech as Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Reverened Desmond Tutu look on during a ceremony marking Mandela's 89th birthday in Johannesburg on July 18 2007. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela smiles as a child gives him a present during his 89th birthday celebrations in Johannesburg on July 24 2007. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress and leader of the ruling Indian Congress Alliance, looks on during a meeting with Nelson Mandela at the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on August 22 2007. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown holds the arm of Nelson Mandela as he leaves Downing Street in London on August 28 2007. (Luke MacGregor, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela waves as he arrives to attend the unveiling ceremony of a statue in his honour in London's Parliament Square on August 29 2007. Britain honoured Mandela by placing a bronze statue of him alongside those of great statesmen such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln. (Alessia Pierdomenico, Reuters)
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (2nd right) looks through a photo album with Nelson Mandela, as Mandela's wife Graça Machel, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (left) and France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon (right) watch at the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 4 2007. (Thomas Coex, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela poses with the Springboks, winners of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, at the Mandela Foundation in Houghton on October 27 2007. The Springboks toured Soweto during their nationwide World Cup victory parade after an outcry over a decision to bypass the country's biggest township. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela watches during the 46664 Aids charity concert at Ellispark stadium in Johannesburg on December 1 2007. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela greets recipients of the 2008 Mandela Rhodes scholarship at his office in Johannesburg on March 4 2008. (Antony Kaminju, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela meets theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking at the Mandela Foundation office in Johannesburg on May 15 2008. (Reuters)
Nelson Mandela meets Britain's Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 25 2008. (Dominic Lipinski, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela speaks during the 46664 concert held in his honour in Hyde Park, London on June 27 2008. The event was organized to raise funds for Nelson Mandela's HIV/Aids '46664' campaign. (Andrew Winning, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela smiles as he arrives with his wife Graça Machel for the Sixth Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Kliptown, near Johannesburg on July 12 2008. The lecture, given by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is part of celebrations marking Mandela's 90th birthday. (Mike Hutchings, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela is surrounded by his grandchildren at his house in Qunu, Eastern Cape on July 18 2008. (Themba Hadebe, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela shares a toast with his wife Graça Machel during his 90th birthday celebrations at his house in Qunu on July 19 2008. (Themba Hadebe, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela smiles as he arrives with President Jacob Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki at the Loftus stadium in Pretoria on August 2 2008, during a rally organised by the ANC to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela looks on as South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pristorius shows him some of the medals he won at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton on October 3 2008. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela holds a walking stick presented to him by Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on March 20 2009. (Denis Farrell, AP)
Then-presidential candidate Jacob Zuma gestures as Nelson Mandela looks on at the final election rally for the ANC in Johannesburg on April 19 2009. (Finbarr O'Reilly, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela waves after casting his vote a polling station in Houghton on April 22 2009. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça attend the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on May 9 2009. (Steve Crisp, Reuters)
Nelson Mandela poses with a blanket decorated with footprints of children on July 31 2009 during the launch of a children's hospital in Johannesburg. Mandela combined his 91st birthday celebration with the opening of a new children's hospital. (Karel Prinsloo, AP)
Nelson Mandela waves inside Parliament at Cape Town on February 11 2010. Lawmakers sang Mandela's praises as the anti-apartheid icon settled into parliament's public gallery for a State of the Nation address scheduled in tribute to his 20 years of freedom. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP)
Nelson Mandela poses with South African soccer player Matthew Booth in Johannesburg on June 3 2010. (AP Photo/Nelson Mandela Foundation)
Nelson Mandela waves to spectators next to his wife Graça Machel at the closing ceremony of the Soccer World Cup at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg on July 11 2010. (Martin Meissner, AP)
