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South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark Mandela dies aged 59

The Local Denmark
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South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark Mandela dies aged 59
Zindzi Mandela. Photo: Uffe Weng/Ritzau Scanpix

Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of Nelson Mandela and South African ambassador to Denmark, has died at the age of 59.

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South Africa’s government confirmed Mandela’s death on its website on Monday, and the ambassador’s passing was reported by Danish and international media.

Zindzi Mandela was the daughter of former South African president Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela.

No information has yet been released regarding the cause of her death, TV2 reports.

She was appointed as her country’s ambassador to Denmark in 2015 and was the second of Nelson Mandela’s children to enter international diplomacy. Her sister, Zenani Mandela-Dlamini, has served as South African ambassador to Argentina and is currently high commissioner to Mauritius.

 

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Zindzi Mandela was active in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. She is perhaps best known for reading to a packed crowd her father’s 1985 letter rejecting an offer by the then-government to release Nelson Mandela from prison. The offer demanded Nelson Mandela denounce violence perpetrated by his movement, the Africa National Congress, against apartheid, the brutal system of racial discrimination enforced in the country at that time.

She is survived by her husband and four children.

READ ALSO: Mandela's daughter gets Danish ambassador gig

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