His Grace, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, North West Province. He is known as a South African cleric and activist. He gained worldwide recognition during the 1980s when he was an outspoken opponent of apartheid.

Tutu was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. After finishing school, he trained as a teacher at the Pretoria Bantu Normal College. He worked as a teacher for three years. He furthered his studies at the University of South Africa and graduated in 1954. After completing university, he began to study theology and was appointed as a priest in 1960. He spent four years attending advanced theological studies in England.

In 1967 he returned to South Africa where he taught at the Federal Theological Seminary in Alice in the Eastern Cape. The Federal Theological Seminary was taken over by the state. Because of his strong critical views against the apartheid government he decided to leave his position.

In 1970 he was offered a lecturing position at the Roma University in Lesotho. This was followed by an appointment as Associate Director of the Theological Fund of the World Council of Churches in Kent, London. He returned to South Africa in 1975 to take up a post as the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg. Between 1976 and 1978 Tutu was the Bishop of the Anglican Church in Lesotho. He was also the Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches.

Tutu's passport was confiscated to prevent his travelling in and out of South Africa and he was arrested by the South African government. He was known by many as the barefoot "waif" who strayed onto the path of greatness and displayed enormous faith and courage. He was always armed with his bible. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize award on 16 October 1984 for his untiring effort in calling for the end to minority rule in South Africa.  He fought for the protection of liberation organisations and the release of political prisoners.

On 7 September 1986 he was appointed as the Archbishop of Cape Town. He was the first Black person to hold this position. He was also appointed as the Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape on 20 May 1988 and is currently still serving in this position.

He was also the recipient of the Order for Meritorious Service Award (Gold) presented by President Nelson Mandela in 1996, and was appointed chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was put into place to deal with the atrocities of the past. He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town because he wanted to devote all his time to the work of the TRC. Soon after, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer (a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system). He took some time off to undergo several months of treatment in the United States. He continued to work with the commission while he was also taking care of his health.

Tutu serves as the current chairman of The Elders, a group consisting of world leaders who are pooling their knowledge and resources to tackle global issues. Members of this group include Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel and Kofi Annan.

Tutu coined the phrase 'Rainbow Nation' and he believes in the possibility of interracial harmony in South Africa. He is widely regarded as South Africa's moral conscience. He has received honorary doctorates from a number of universities in the USA, Britain and Germany.

He is married to Leah Nomalizo Shinxani and they have four children. Their family home is in Soweto. His office is in Cape Town, where he also owns a home. His public ministry is also allocated there.

On the 12 August 2009, Tutu received a Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu also co-chaires the 1GOAL Education for All campaign which was launched by Queen Rania of Jordan in August 2009 which aims to secure schooling for some 72 million children world-wide who cannot afford it, in accordance with the Millennium Goal Promise of education for all by 2015 giving them an opportunity to get education through the FIFA 1Goal campaign.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said during a press briefing on the 22 July 2010 at  Cape Town's St George Cathedral that he intends to retire from public engagements when he turns 79 on 7 October 2010.

He will, however, continue with his involvement with the Elders and Nobel Laureate Group and with his support of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, he would step down from his positions as Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape and as a representative on the UN's advisory committee on the prevention of genocide.

"I think I've done as much as I can, and I really do need time for other things that I have wanted to do. I really want a little more quiet," said Tutu, adding that there were "superb" people that could take over the advocacy work he had been doing.

Sources:

• SA History
• Nobelprize
• Tutufoundation
• IOL

Page Created: 19 January 2010
Page last updated: 03 October 2011