Governor George Fergusson and Premier Craig Cannonier have this evening led tributes to former South African president Nelson Mandela.

Mr Fergusson said: “President Nelson Mandela’s death marks the passing of one of the world’s few truly unifying figures.

“His contribution to transition and reconciliation in South Africa is remarkable.

“But the whole world owes him a debt as a symbol of courage, principle and forgiveness. We will all mourn him.”

Mr Cannonier praised Mr Mandela as an ‘inspiration to all’.

Reacting moments after news broke of the death of the anti-apartheid icon, the Premier said Mr Mandela’s struggle against repression ‘embodied the very best of the human spirit’.

Mr Mandela’s passing was announced by South Africa’s president Jacob Zumba, who mourned the departure of his nation’s ‘greatest son’.

Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.

He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.

“Today the world has lost an iconic leader; to some a brother, to many a friend, to all an inspiration — former South African President Nelson Mandela,” said Mr Cannonier.

“On behalf of the Bermuda Government, I join with the people of Bermuda in expressing our deep sense of loss at his passing. His lifelong struggle against the forces of repression and darkness embodied the very best of the human spirit.

“Though we mourn his departure, we can also celebrate the meaning of his life and draw strength and encouragement from his example.

“Mr Mandela will be immortalised as the man who, by his actions, words and presence, led the fight to abolish apartheid in his native South Africa and then replace it with a multiracial democracy.

“He was an inspiration to people everywhere, no more so than following his release from prison in 1990 when he turned the other cheek to steer a traumatised and divided nation toward peace instead of war; toward forgiveness instead of retribution.

“He was a man whose actions and words set an example for a better world. He saw more completely than most the flaws in human nature and sought more effectively than any other voice of his time to overcome them.

“Mr Mandela’s life was a triumph of perseverance over surrender, of hope over despair, of unity over division. He made his enemies his partners and challenged all of us, by his own example, to be better — to live with love in our hearts, no matter how challenging that might be.

“His quest transcended all our differences, to glow in our hearts as a beacon to reconciliation, forgiveness and brotherly love.

“He is the role model for humanity, and a towering source of pride and inspiration for oppressed people everywhere, who can know by his life that justice follows injustice, that good can prevail over evil and that the light shall follow the dark.

“Nelson Mandela — a just and righteous man; surely touched by God.

May he rest in peace and live long in our hearts.”

Progressive Labour Party leader Marc Bean said Mr Mandela’s death would cause people around the world to reflect on the revered statesman’s ‘profound character’.

“The news of the passing of President Nelson Mandela — Madiba has caused many around the world to reflect on the great, deep and profound human character that he exemplified in the midst of adversity not just for himself but for an entire people,” said Mr Bean.

“What’s stands clear in my mind today as I received the news was to reflect on the blood that was shed by the freedom fighters who did their part in eradicating the most vicious and ignoble system of Government known to man. It is my hope that we in Bermuda do not use President Mandela’s passing as an excuse not to address similar, but yet more subtle attitudes that exist within the thinking of us as a people.

“May he and all the freedom fighters against apartheid and colonialism rest in peace.”