Mandela was born on January 18, 1918, in ___________________________ Africa. He was named Rolihlahla, which means "troublemaker" in the Xhosa language. Mandela's ___________________________ was the ruler of the Thembu people and his father was a local ___________________________.

Mandela fought against apartheid, the laws that established ___________________________ separation and oppression in South Africa. He was ___________________________ for this and sentenced to life in prison in 1964. After spending 27 ___________________________ in prison, he was released and was later ___________________________ President of South Africa.

Mandela served as ___________________________ of South Africa from 1994 until 1999 (he refused a ___________________________ term). He championed reconciliation, the peaceful ___________________________ of grievances after decades of repressive ___________________________ against black South Africans. Without Mandela's leadership, South Africa might well have lapsed into a bloody ___________________________ war.