Nelson Mandela celebrates his 95th birthday today (July 18). Mandela has been battling health issues that landed him in the hospital where he remains, but is said to be making improvements and responding well to treatment.
The former South African president in treatment for the better half of June and July. Current President Jacob Zuma visited with Mandela and was “encouraged” by his progress. “When I visited him today…I was able to say ‘happy birthday and he was able to smile.”
In the middle of his recurring illness, Mandela’s family members have been involved in a dispute over his fortune. In early July the bodies of his three children were excavated and moved to a family plot, after grandson Mandla Mandela secretly moved the remains two years ago.
Meanwhile, the birthday of the anti-apartheid figure is also Nelson Mandela International Day as declared by the United Nations.
South Africans held celebrations in honor of the birth milestone.
See photos below.
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Photos: Reuters/TC News
South African President Jacob Zuma, and Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula
President Bill Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wore pens in honor of Mandela.
Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa Mandela did charity work to celebrate Mandela Day.
