Desmond Tutu

Born in 1931 to a poor family in Klerksdorp, Tutu trained as a teacher before ordination as an Anglican priest in 1960. He studied theology at King's College London in 1962, then returned to teach in southern Africa and direct the Theological Education Fund across the continent. By 1978 he was general-secretary of the South African Council of Churches, warning the National Party that apartheid would ignite racial violence while pushing foreign economic pressure instead. In 1986 he became Archbishop of Cape Town - the first Black African in the role - and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his activism. After Mandela's release in 1990, Tutu mediated between rival black factions during negotiations, then chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses on all sides. He spent his later decades speaking out on gay rights, criticizing Israeli policy toward Palestinians, and calling out South African presidents by name when he thought they failed the country.