Johannesburg: Nelson Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and one of the towering political figures of the 20th century, has died aged 95, President Jacob Zuma said Thursday.
"He is now resting ... he is now at peace," a visibly emotional Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son."
In a sombre statement read live on television by the president, Zuma told his fellow South Africans: "Our people have lost a father. Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.
"His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.
"His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him their love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them, we owe a debt of gratitude. Our thoughts are with his wife, his former wife, with his children, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren and the entire family."
He added that the country's thoughts were also with those who helped Mandela in the struggle against apartheid, his fellow South Africans and his many admirers throughout the world.
"Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Nelson Mandela as their own and who saw his cause as their cause. This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.
Zuma said that Mandela would be accorded a state funeral and that all flags would be lowered to half-mast from December 6 until after the funeral.
Obama: Mandela 'courageous and profoundly good'
Washington: America's first black president Barack Obama paid solemn tribute Thursday to South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela, dubbing him "influential, courageous and profoundly good."
"Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, he transformed South Africa and moved all of us," Obama said in a televised White House address.
Ban calls Mandela a 'giant of justice'
"My Fellow South Africans, Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation has departed. He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.
He is now resting. He is now at peace. Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.
Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, his compassion, and his humanity earned him their love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.
They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free. Our thoughts are with his wife Mrs Graca Machel, his former wife Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with his children, his grand-children, his great grand-children and the entire family.
Our thoughts are with his friends, comrades and colleagues who fought alongside Madiba over the course of a lifetime of struggle. Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.
Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Madiba as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause. This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.
Our nation has lost its greatest son. Yet, what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.
And in him we saw so much of ourselves.
Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together, and it is together that we will bid him farewell. Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a State Funeral.
I have ordered that all flags of the Republic of South Africa be lowered to half-mast from tomorrow, 6 December, and to remain at half-mast until after the funeral. As we gather to pay our last respects, let us conduct ourselves with the dignity and respect that Madiba personified.
Let us be mindful of his wishes and the wishes of his family. As we gather, wherever we are in the country and wherever we are in the world, let us recall the values for which Madiba fought.
Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another.Let us commit ourselves to strive together - sparing neither strength nor courage - to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.
This is indeed the moment of our deepest sorrow.Yet it must also be the moment of our greatest determination.
A determination to live as Madiba has lived, to strive as Madiba has strived and to not rest until we have realised his vision of a truly united South Africa, a peaceful and prosperous Africa, and a better world.
We will always love you Madiba! May your soul rest in peace.
God Bless Africa. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika."
Next - Key dates in the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Key dates in the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela:
July 18, 1918: Born into Thembu royal family in Mvezo village in southeastern South Africa.
1940: Expelled from Fort Hare University College for participating in a student strike.
1941: Moves to Johannesburg, becomes policeman at a mine.
1943: Joins the African National Congress (ANC).
1944: Marries Evelyn Mase, a trainee nurse.
1952: Opens the first black law practice in Johannesburg with Oliver Tambo.
December 5, 1956: Is among 156 political activists arrested and charged with treason.
1958: Marries social worker Nomzamo Zaniewe Winifred "Winnie" Madikizela after divorcing his first wife.
March 21, 1960: Security forces massacre 67 protesters in Sharpeville. The government bans ANC and Pan African Congress and declares state of emergency.
1961: Acquitted in treason trial along with co-accused.
December 16, 1961: Launch of ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), with Mandela as commander in chief.
August 5, 1962: Captured and sentenced on November 7 to five years in prison for inciting a strike and leaving the country illegally.
1963: While serving this sentence, is charged with sabotage along with other ANC activists arrested in Rivonia near Johannesburg.
June 12, 1964: After famous speech from the dock (democracy "is an ideal for which I am prepared to die"), is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Robben Island prison off Cape Town.
July 5, 1989: Meets president P.W. Botha and then on December 13 with F.W. de Klerk, who later becomes Botha's successor.
February 11, 1990: Released from prison.
July 5, 1991: Elected ANC president.
April, 1992: Separates from his wife Winnie.
October 15, 1993: Wins Nobel Peace Prize with De Klerk.
April 27, 1994: Votes for the first time in his life in the country's first all-race elections.
May 10, 1994: Inaugurated as president.
July 18, 1998: Marries Graca Machel, widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel.
1999: Steps down as president after one term.
June 1, 2004: Announces his retirement from public life.
January 6, 2005: Announces that his son Makgatho had died of AIDS.
April 19, 2009: Makes his final political address in a recorded message at an ANC election rally.
July 11, 2010: Appears at the closing ceremony of the Football World Cup in South Africa.
January 28, 2011: Discharged from hospital after two days of treatment for an acute respiratory infection.
May 23, 2011: Moves to his village home in Qunu.
December 8, 2012: Admitted to hospital in Pretoria to be treated for a lung infection and gall stones.
December 26, 2012: Mandela is discharged from hospital.
January 6, 2013: Doctors say Mandela has "recovered" although he continues to receive care at his home in Johannesburg.
March 9, 2013: Admitted overnight to a Pretoria hospital for a "scheduled medical check-up". Discharged the following day after "successful" tests.
March 27, 2013: Mandela is readmitted to hospital for a recurring lung infection which doctors say is pneumonia.
June 8, 2013: Mandela is readmitted to hospital with a renewed lung infection and is in a "serious but stable condition", the presidency says.
June 22: The presidency says the icon remains in a "serious but stable condition in hospital", as the US news channel CBS says that Mandela is "unresponsive" and "has not opened his eyes for days".
23: Mandela's condition appears to have worsened. The presidency says Mandela has been in a critical condition "over the past 24 hours".
25: Close family of Mandela gather at his rural homestead in Qunu.
26: Mandela is on life support, an elder in Mandela's clan, Napilisi Mandela, says.
President Zuma cancels a trip to Mozambique.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon says that the whole world is praying for Mandela, "one of the giants of the 20th century".
Court documents filed that evening claim Mandela is in a "vegetative state" and that Mandela's doctors advised his family to turn off his life support machine, citing his perilous health.
27: There is relief as Zuma says that the condition of Mandela had improved overnight. He remains critical but stable.
His daughter Makaziwe Mandela says his condition is "very critical" and "anything is imminent".
30: Visiting US President Barack Obama goes to Robben Island and visits the cell where Mandela spent 18 years as a political prisoner.
A day earlier Obama had hailed him as "an inspiration to the world" and met members of his family.
July 5, 2013: Mandela's doctors have rejected the idea of turning off life support unless he suffers massive organ failure, a close family friend says.
10: The presidency reports that Mandela is "responding to treatment."
18: Mandela spends his 95th birthday in hospital, his health is said to be "steadily improving."
August 24, 2013: The South African government says Mandela's health is unstable at times but he has shown "great resilience" and his condition tends to stabilise as a result of medical interventions."
31: The presidency denies reports Mandela has been discharged from hospital.
September 1, 2013: Mandela is discharged from hospital and is moved to his Johannesburg home, where he will continue to receive intensive medical care.
He "remains critical and is at times unstable" the presidency said.
December 5: President Jacob Zuma announces the death of Mandela, aged 95.
