1940s
1942 – Bachelor of Arts degree, University of South Africa
1960s
1965 – Elected Honorary President of the Students’ Union, University of Leeds
1970s
1973 – A nuclear particle discovered by scientists at the University of Leeds is named “Mandela nelson”
1975 – Honorary life membership of the Students’ Union, University of London
1979 – Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Law, University of Lesotho, Maseru, 29 September
1979-Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations New Delhi, India
1981
Freedom of the City of Glasgow
Road named after Mandela by the London Borough of Brent
Bruno Kreisky Award for merit in the field of human rights, chosen by a panel of international judges, Vienna, Austria
1982
Elected Honorary Life President of the Students’ Union at the London School of Economics and Political Science
1983
• Honorary citizenship of Rome, February
• Honorary citizenship of Olympia, Greece, 17 March
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws. City College of New York, 5 June
• City Council of Dublin, Ireland, unveiled sculpture in a city park by Elisabeth Frink dedicated to Nelson Mandela, 26 June
• Award of the order Star of International Friendship in gold by the German Democratic Republic, 18 July
• City Council of Harlow, United Kingdom, renamed one of its major roads in honour of Nelson Mandela, 18 July
• AUEW/TASS, one of United Kingdom’s major trade unions, held a special ceremony to rename their executive committee room the ‘Nelson Mandela Room’, 18 July
• Freedom of London Borough of Greenwich, 20 July
• UNESCO awards its first Simon Bolivar International Prize jointly to Nelson Mandela and King Juan Carlos of Spain at a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Simón Bolívar, 24 July
• City Council of Leeds, United Kingdom, names the Civic Hall ‘Nelson Mandela Gardens’, 10 December
• Park in Hull, United Kingdom, named ‘Mandela Park’
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
• The Students Unions of Warwick University, Coventry Polytechnic (now Coventry University) and South Bank Polytechnic (now London South Bank University) named rooms in honour of Nelson Mandela
• New York City renamed square in front of South African mission to the United Nations ‘Nelson and Winnie Mandela Plaza’
1984
• Honorary Degree, Free University of Brussels, 13 January
• London Borough of Camden Council, names the street where the Anti-Apartheid Movement has its headquarters as ‘Mandela Street’.
• London Borough of Hackney Council, renames a housing block after Nelson Mandela, April
• Playa Giron Award, Cuba, awarded by Fidel Castro
• Honorary membership of National Association of Local Government Officers [NALGO] United Kingdom
• London Borough of Haringey Council, names housing development after Nelson Mandela
• Monument to Nelson Mandela unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin
• Elected Honorary Member of the Students Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland
• Freedom of the City of Wijnegem, Belgium
• Awarded Star of International Friendship, German Democratic Republic, 27 August
• Freedom of the City of Aberdeen conferred on both Nelson and Winnie Mandela, 29 November
• School in German Democratic Republic named ‘Nelson Mandela School’
• Room at Edinburgh city chambers named in his honor
1985
• Revenue Staff Federation, United Kingdom, names its Commonwealth trade union scholarship after Nelson Mandela
• London Borough of Southwark names new road ‘Mandela Way’
• Nottingham City Council names a room in a sports centre
• The Third World Prize, awarded annually by the London-based Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies, awarded jointly to Nelson and Winnie Mandela
• Awarded freedom of the City of Hull, United Kingdom
• Freeman of Midlothian, Scotland (accepted during his October 1993 visit
• Awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize by Human Rights Institute of The Bar of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, 29 March
• Nigerian writers organisation, Writers and Journalists Against Apartheid (WAJAAP), confers title of Life Patron
• Town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, renames its speakers’ corner Nelson Mandela Corner, September
• Freedom of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
• Honorary citizenship of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
• Diploma of Honour and Friendship from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
• Statue of Nelson Mandela erected in London by Greater London Council, unveiled by Oliver Tambo on 28 October
• Senegal’s President Abdou Diouf inaugurates Soweto Square and Nelson Mandela Avenue in the centre of Dakar, Senegal, 6 December
• Awarded Doctor of Laws degree by Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, December
1986
• Street sign in Glasgow, Scotland. Elected Honorary Life President of the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa
• Awarded the W.E.B. DuBois International Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• Coventry City Council named new building after Mandela
• Presented with the Alfonso Comin Foundation Peace Award in Barcelona, Spain
• Freedom of the Borough of Islwyn, Wales, given to Winnie and Nelson Mandela
• International Peace and Freedom Award by the Workers International Centre, Stockholm Sweden
• Awarded, with Winnie Mandela, the Third World Prize by the Strategic and International Studies Group of Malaysia, 5 May
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Zimbabwe
• Nelson Mandela Park in Leicester, England, named after Mandela
• Honorary membership awarded to Winnie and Nelson Mandela by the National Union of Seamen, United Kingdom
• St George’s Place in Glasgow, Scotland, the location of the South African consulate is renamed Nelson Mandela Place
• Awarded the Cross of St. Andrew by Scotland
• Made Honorary Freeman of Newcastle
1987
• First person to receive the Freedom of the City of Sydney, Australia, 9 January
• Honorary Degrees, Winnie and Nelson Mandela, United States Ross University Medical School in the Caribbean
• Named Patron of Isipingo and District Football Association, Natal
• Honorary Degree, University of Michigan, USA
• Honorary Degree. University of Havana, Cuba
• Honorary Citizen, City of Florence, Italy
• Honorary Doctorate, Karl Marx University of the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig,
11 November
• Dutch football player Ruud Gullit dedicates his European Footballer of the Year award to Nelson Mandela
1988
• Park in Montreal named “Parc Winnie-et-Nelson-Mandela” (Winnie’s name removed in 1998)
• Awarded Bremen Solidarity Prize, Federal Republic of Germany
• Nelson and Winnie Mandela given honorary membership of the National Union of Teachers, United Kingdom
• Awarded freedom of the City of Dublin, Ireland
• Awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, by the European Parliament
• Honorary Doctorate conferred, University of Carabobo, Venezuela, June
• People of Lefkada, Greece, award the Medal of Peace, August
• Honorary citizenship conferred by nine Greek municipalities Egaleo, Ellenikon, Glyfada, Ilioupolis, Daissariani, New Filadelfia, Nikaea, Preveza and Zogrofu
• Honorary degree in Political Science awarded by the University of Bologna, Italy, 12 September
• Honorary citizenship bestowed by the Town Council of the city of Bologna, Italy, September
• Awarded the United Nations Human Rights Fourth Award, 10 December
• Nelson Mandela Road named, New Delhi, India, 10 December
• Bachelor of Laws degree, University of South Africa
1989
• Augusto César Sandino Award bestowed by Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, Managua, 21 February
• Freedom of the Municipality of Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. Award received on his behalf by Oliver Tambo
• Awarded Peace Prize of the Tipperary Peace Committee, Ireland
• Nuremberg Platz renamed ‘Nelson Mandela Platz’, Nuremberg, Germany, June
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, York University, Toronto, Canada, 16 June
• Square in Clayes-sous-Bois, France, named ‘Nelson Mandela Square’, September
1990
• Bharat Ratna, awarded 1990 Made Honorary Life President of National Union of Mineworkers when he addressed its Central Committee, 21 April
• Granted freedom of the City of Harare, Zimbabwe, March
• ‘Mandela Day’, a public holiday declared in Zimbabwe on 5 March
• Awarded the Lenin Peace Prize for 1990, May. The last-ever recipient
• Bestowed the Dr António Agostinho Neto Order, the highest honour of the People’s Republic of Angola, 12 May
• Bestowed the award ‘Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, Lagos, 14 May
• Awarded the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights in Tripoli, Libya, 19 or 20 May
• Honorary degree in political science by the Cairo University, Egypt, May
• Bestowed Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, October
• Doctorate, honoris causa, conferred by University of Malaya, November
• Honorary Doctorate in law, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town, 28 November
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Cape Town
1991
• Honorary LL.D Degree conferred, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 6 September
• Awarded Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize, 8 December
• Awarded Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize by UNESCO
1992
• Installed as Chancellor of the University of the North (now called University of Limpopo), 25 April
• Honorary LL.D Degree conferred by the University of Fort Hare, 9 May
• Honorary Doctorate conferred at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal, 30 June
• Presented with the Freedom of Miami Beach Medallion of Honour, Johannesburg, 29 September
• Pakistan conferred the Nishan-e-Pakistan, 3 October
• Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, Oviedo, Spain, 31 October
• Received the “Spirit of Liberty” award at the “People for the American Way” award ceremony, 8 November
• Received the Isitwalandwe Medal from the ANC
• Awarded the Atatürk International Peace Prize by Turkey, but refused the award citing human rights violations committed by Turkey during that time
1993
• Bill Clinton presented Mandela with the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on July 4, 1993 Received Gleitsman Foundation International Activist Award, Johannesburg, 12 May
• Received Philadelphia Liberty Medal. Presented by President of the United States Bill Clinton, Philadelphia, USA, 4 July
• Honorary Degree conferred, Clark Atlanta University, 10 July
• Received Apostolic Humanitarian Award, Johannesburg, 15 September
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Soochow University, Taiwan, 1 August
• Awarded J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, Washington, DC, 1 October
• Received Honorary Degree from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, 8 October
• Awarded Nobel Peace Prize Oslo, Norway, 10 December
• Named Person of the Year by Time Magazine, together with F. W. de Klerk, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin
1994
• Received the New Nation/Engen Man of the Year Flame of Distinction award, 24 March
• Elected Newsmaker of the Year, with Deputy President F W de Klerk, by the Johannesburg Press Club, 25 May. Prof Kader Asmal received the award on 29 September
• Received the Hunger Project’s 8th annual Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger, London, 19 July
• Received Anne Frank medal for human rights and tolerance, Johannesburg, 15 August
• Received Sheikh Yusuf Peace Award from the Muslim Women’s Federation, 10 September
• Received the Arthur A Houghton Star Crystal Award for Excellence from the African-American Institute, 6 October
• Received Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from Africare, 6 October
• Honorary Doctorate, Howard University, 7 October
• Received freedom of the town of Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal, 21 October (initially granted in 1989)
• Received the Olympic Gold Order from International Olympic Committee president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Cape Town, 16 November
• Received Man of the Year Award from the Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Southern Africa, Johannesburg, 19 November 1994
• Honorary Doctorate awarded by University of South Africa
• Awarded the “Commonwealth Champion of Health” medal, received by South African athletes at the Commonwealth Games, Canada
1995
• Africa Peace Award – sponsored jointly by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – presented at a ceremony in Durban, March
• Appointed an honorary member of the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II
• ‘Nelson Mandela Road’ to Katse, Lesotho, inaugurated, 13 July
• Received Pretoria Press Club’s 1994 Newsmaker of the Year Award, Pretoria, 20 July
• Granted the Freedom of Uitenhage, 14 September
• Awarded Honorary Fellowship of the College of Medicine of South Africa, Johannesburg, 17 October
• Harvard Business School Statesman of the Year Award, 14 December
• Human Rights Institute, with President Mandela as honorary chairman, launched in London by the International Bar Association, December 1995
1996
• Awarded honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
• Indira Gandhi Award for International Justice and Harmony bestowed. Award received by Justice Minister Dullah Omar in New Delhi, India, January
• Received the World Citizenship Award of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
• U Thant Peace Award bestowed by Sri Chinmoy, 29 January
• Created Knight of the Order of the Elephant by the Danish Queen Margrethe II, Copenhagen, 18 February
• Awarded the National Order of Mali (Grande Croix), Mali’s highest decoration, Bamako, 3 March
• Received the Freedom of the City of London, London, 10 July
• Received the Degree of Doctor of Civil Law by Diploma of the University of Oxford[16] and honorary degrees from the Universities of Cambridge (LLD),[17] London (London School of Economics),[18] Bristol, Nottingham, and Warwick (LLD)[19] and from De Montfort and Glasgow Caledonian Universities in the garden of Buckingham Palace, 10 July A photograph of the event is available on the Glasgow Caledonian University Archives website
• Received Honorary Doctorate from Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Paris, 15 July
• Received Honorary Doctorate from Stellenbosch University, 25 October
• Received the Freedom of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 29 November
• Awarded The Battle of Adwa and the Victory of Adwa Centenary Medal by the Crown Council of Ethiopia in 1996
1997
• Nelson Mandela’s former house in Soweto, Johannesburg, now Mandela Family Museum. Mandela Family Museum opens in Soweto, 29 November
• Awarded Honorary Degree by the University of the Philippines, Manila, 2 March
• Created Knight of the Royal Swedish Order of the Seraphim, Stockholm, 3 March.
• Received Freedom of the City of Pietermaritzburg, 25 April
• Received Freedom of the City of Bloemfontein, 16 May
• Baker Avenue in Central Harare, Zimbabwe, Renamed Nelson Mandela Avenue, 19 May
• Received Freedom of Boksburg, 26 June
• Received Freedom of Oxford, United Kingdom, 11 July
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 17 July
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Cape Town, 19 September
• Received the American Public Health Association Presidential Citation, Pretoria, 14 October
• Awarded the Collar of the Nile by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Cairo, 21 October
• Received Freedom of City of Edinburgh, Scotland, 27 October
• Received Freedom of City of Cape Town, 27 November
• Received Honorary Degree from the University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 4 December
• Multi-purpose room at SUNY Binghamton renamed Nelson Mandela’s Room
• The Nelson Mandela National Sports Stadium in Kampala Uganda was opened in 1997 with a concert by Lucky Dube
1998
• Received Honorary Doctoral Degree from the University of South Australia, University of Fort Hare, 23 April
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate, University of Zululand, 30 May
• Awarded the Freedom of the City and County of Cardiff, Cardiff, 16 June
• Awarded the Chris Hani Award at the 10th National Congress of the South African Communist Party, Johannesburg, 1 July
• Awarded Honorary Degree by the University of Mauritius, 11 September
• Park in Montreal named again “Parc Nelson-Mandela”, 14 September
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 18 September
• Awarded Congressional Gold Medal, Washington, 23 September
• Appointed Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada on behalf of the Queen of Canada, 24 September
• Nelson Mandela public school named in his honour in Toronto
• Presented with Award in Recognition of his Contribution to Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom by the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa, 19 November
• Created a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav by the King of Norway
1999
• Received the Deutscher Medienpreis, Baden-Baden, Germany, 28 January
• Awarded the Oneness-Peace Earth-Summit-Transcendence-Fragrance Award, Pretoria, 9 March
• Received the Golden Medal of the City of Amsterdam, Netherlands, 10 March
• Received honorary doctorate from Leiden University, Netherlands, 12 March
• Awarded the Freedom of the City of Durban, Durban, 16 April
• Received Honorary Doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 30 April
• Received Ukraine’s Highest Decoration, the First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Cape Town, 5 May
• Received Jesse Owens Global Award, Johannesburg, 21 September
• Received insignia of Honour from the African Renaissance Institute, Johannesburg, 11 October
• Received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Botswana, Gaborone, 14 October
• Received the Baker Institute Enron Prize for Distinguished Public Service at Rice University, Houston, 26 October
• Awarded the Freedom of the City of Lydenburg, Lydenburg, 3 November
• Appointed Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia, Canberra, 9 June; presented with the insignia by Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Pretoria on 15 November
• Was among 18 included in Gallup’s List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people in December 1999
• Awarded honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, Sweden, 3 December
• Presented with Temple of Understanding Annual Award to Religious and Political Leaders for Outstanding Service to Humanity, Cape Town, 5 December
• Presented with the Gandhi-King Award by the World Movement for Nonviolence at the World Parliament of Religions, Cape Town, 5 December
• Listed as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time magazine
• Created Knight of the Dutch/Luxembourgian Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, Netherlands, 10 March
2000
• Nelson Mandela National Museum – Information Centre at Qunu. The Nelson Mandela National Museum is officially opened in Soweto, 11 February
• Awarded honorary Doctorate of Laws by Trinity College, Dublin, 11 April
• Appointed honorary Queen’s Counsel by the House of Lords, United Kingdom, 3 May
• Awarded SABS Gold Medal, Sandton, 10 June
• BT Ethnic Multicultural Media Award, London, 29 June
• Received World Methodist Peace Award, London, 29 June
• International Freedom Award, Memphis, Tennessee, 22 November
• Elected an Honorary Member of the Bertrand Russell Society, autumn
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
• Awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters from the Australian National University, 6 September
2001
• International Gandhi Peace Prize, Presidential Palace, New Delhi, 16 March
• Made an Honorary Freeman of Leeds, 30 April
• Made an Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, 2 May
• Awarded the first King Shaka Award in recognition of bravery, 25 July 2001
• Park Public School renamed Mandela Park Public School, Toronto, Canada, 17 November
• Received honorary doctorate of law from Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, 17 November
• Granted Honorary Citizenship of Canada, 19 November
• Awarded the LLD Honoris Cause from the University of the Free State
• Awarded the D Tech Education Honoris Cause from the Technikon Free State
• Human Rights Lifetime Achievement award by the SA Human Rights Commission, Johannesburg, 11 December
• Made an Honorary Administrator For A Day at SUNY Binghamton
2002
• Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law from University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 21 March
• Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law from Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, 6 April
• New hall of residence at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa named ‘Nelson Mandela Hall’
• Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Ghana, 24 April
• Awarded the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom Medal, Middelburg, The Netherlands, 8 June.
• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian award, by George W. Bush, Washington, USA, 9 July
• Awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal from Canada
• Awarded the Order of Mapungubwe – Platinum Category by President Thabo Mbeki, Union Buildings, Pretoria, December 2002
• Construction begins on the Mandela Parkway in Oakland, California, built after 1989’s Loma Prieta earthquake demolished the Cypress Street Viaduct portion of the Nimitz Freeway
2003
• Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law by the National University of Ireland, Galway, 20 June
• Elected an Honorary Life member of the Literary and Debating Society, NUI, Galway
• Named a Hero of Freedom by the libertarian magazine Reason
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree – Doctor of Letters (Honoris causa) by The Open University of Tanzania
• British Red Cross Humanity Medal
2004
• Sandton Square in Johannesburg, South Africa is renamed Nelson Mandela Square on 31 March with the unveiling of a 6 m bronze statue (see photo, top of page)
• Listed as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004 by Time magazine
• Created a Bailiff Grand Cross of The Order of St John
• Africa Elephant Award by the Africa Scout Region
• Zoologists Brent E. Hendrixson and Jason E. Bond named a South African species of trapdoor spider in the family Ctenizidae as Stasimopus mandelai, “honouring Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and one of the great moral leaders of our time.”
• Presented with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Open University. The award was presented to him at his home in Cape Town by Professor Brenda Gourley The Open University’s Vice-Chancellor (2002-2008) and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal
2005
• Amherst College honorary degree
• Listed as one of the 100 most influential people of 2005 by Time magazine
2006
• New Statesman – Listed as the number 2 in the 50 “Heroes of our time”
• Awarded Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award]
• Made an honorary member of Manchester United as the club toured South Africa in the winter of 2006
• Conferred an honorary doctorate in government and politics by Universiti Teknologi Mara, the biggest public university in Malaysia, in recognition of his tireless efforts and triumph in struggling for the people’s rights in his country and strengthening their socio-economy
• Awarded the Giuseppe Motta Medal for support for peace and democracy
• South African Red Cross Society Humanitarian Award
2007
• The Westminster City Council agreed to erect a statue of Mandela opposite the Houses of Parliament in London
• Honorary citizen of Belgrade, Serbia “for his huge humanitarian past and contributions to mankind”
2008
• In January 2008, the Europe-based A Different View cited Mandela as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy. Other champions mentioned were Lech Wałęsa, Corazon Aquino, and Václav Have
• Michigan State University LLD honoris causa
• In June 2008 got Stara planina award (Стара планина (орден))
2009
• In July 2009, Mandela received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award presented by Venus and Serena Williams. Accepting on his behalf were his daughter and grandson
• In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly announced that Mandela’s birthday, 18 July, is to be known as ‘Mandela Day’ marking his contribution to world freedom
2010
• Received Honorary Degree from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, 28 October
• Conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree by six universities in the Laureate International Universities network
• Conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States
• Received Orden del Águila Azteca. Presented by President of México Felipe Calderón, Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 June 2010.
2012
• Received The BrandLaureate Hall of Fame-Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (APBF)
• Received the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
