Desmond Tutu, in full Desmond Mpilo Tutu, (born October 7, 1931, Klerksdorp, South Africadied December 26, 2021, Cape Town), South African Anglican cleric who in 1984 received the Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa. [344] In 2004, he appeared in Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, an Off Broadway play in New York City critical of the American detention of prisoners at Guantnamo Bay. "[56] During his years at the college, there had been an intensification in anti-apartheid activism as well as a crackdown against it, including the Sharpeville massacre of 1960. [384] Key points: Desmond Tutu died at an aged care home in Cape Town He was diagnosed with prostate cancer more than 20 years ago and had been hospitalised [333] Tutu equated discrimination against homosexuals with discrimination against black people and women. Let us not be so wanton in destroying it. [100] He could be offended by discourteous behaviour and careless language,[391] as well as by swearing and ethnic slurs. [16] The family were initially Methodists and Tutu was baptised into the Methodist Church in June 1932. [50] The college was residential, and Tutu lived there while his wife trained as a nurse in Sekhukhuneland; their children lived with Tutu's parents in Munsieville. "[426] Racial equality was a core principle,[427] and his opposition to apartheid was unequivocal. Several outreach organisations and activities have been developed to inspire generations and disseminate knowledge about the Nobel Prize. [350] Tutu and Mbeki had long had a strained relationship; Mbeki had accused Tutu of criminalising the ANC's military struggle against apartheid through the TRC, while Tutu disliked Mbeki's active neglect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has called on Aung San Suu Kyi to end military-led operations against Myanmar's Rohingya minority, which have driven 270,000 refugees from the country in the. Desmond Tutu is one of South Africa's most well-known human rights activists, winning the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving and ending apartheid. In 2010, he retired from public life. "Beyond a "Political Priest": Exploring Desmond Tutu as a 'Freedom-Fighter Mystic'. Explore prizes and laureates [155] In 1981 Tutu also became the rector of St Augustine's Church in Soweto's Orlando West. published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. When the group's rally was banned, Tutu, Boesak, and Naidoo organised a service at St George's Cathedral to replace it.[242]. Have one to sell? [410] Quick witted, he used humour to try and win over audiences. [471] [346] He also criticised the UK's introduction of measures to detain terrorist subjects for 28 days without trial. [464] In doing so he spoke of an underlying unity of Africans and the African diaspora, stating that "All of us are bound to Mother Africa by invisible but tenacious bonds. from Kings College London. The price of speaking out. He was honoured for his efforts to dismantle the oppressive rule in South Africa. [29] He then returned to Johannesburg, moving into an Anglican hostel near the Church of Christ the King in Sophiatown. He resigned his post in 1957. [129] Although Tutu did not want the position, he was elected to it in March 1976 and reluctantly accepted. [203] He sought to reassure white South Africans that he was not the "horrid ogre" some feared; as bishop he spent much time wooing the support of white Anglicans in his diocese,[204] and resigned as patron of the UDF.[205]. [39] He had also taken five correspondence courses provided by the University of South Africa (UNISA), graduating in the same class as future Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. [483] According to Gish, Tutu "faced the perpetual dilemma of all moderates he was often viewed suspiciously by the two hostile sides he sought to bring together". [48] In January 1956, his request to join the Ordinands Guild was turned down due to his debts; these were then paid off by the wealthy industrialist Harry Oppenheimer. [306] In early 2002 he taught at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Sat. Desmond Tutu", "Grahamstown scientist's new fossil scoop", "The leadership role of emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the social development of the South African society", The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation SA, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Biography and Interview, Anglican Church of Southern Africa titles, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desmond_Tutu&oldid=1142656895. [47] With Huddleston's support, Tutu chose to become an Anglican priest. [345] In January 2005, he added his voice to the growing dissent over terrorist suspects held at Guantnamo's Camp X-Ray, stating that these detentions without trial were "utterly unacceptable" and comparable to the apartheid-era detentions. [472], During Tutu's rise to notability during the 1970s and 1980s, responses to him were "sharply polarized". In 2011, he called on the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to conduct same-sex marriages;[369] in 2015 he gave a blessing at his daughter Mpho's marriage to a woman in the Netherlands. At this August meeting the clerical leaders unsuccessfully urged the government to end apartheid. [144] Leah gained employment as the assistant director of the Institute of Race Relations. Select from premium Desmond Tutu And Leah of the highest quality. In 1995 South African Pres. [202] In his inaugural sermon, Tutu called on the international community to introduce economic sanctions against South Africa unless apartheid was not being dismantled within 18 to 24 months. [240], Along with Boesak and Stephen Naidoo, Tutu mediated conflicts between black protesters and the security forces; they for instance worked to avoid clashes at the 1987 funeral of ANC guerrilla Ashley Kriel. I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this. [150] He was also reportedly bad at managing finances and prone to overspending, resulting in accusations of irresponsibility and extravagance. [55] The college's principal, Godfrey Pawson, wrote that Tutu "has exceptional knowledge and intelligence and is very industrious. [436] He stated that "the people who are perpetrators of injury in our land are not sporting horns or tails. [97] This brought him closer to his children and offered twice the salary he earned at Fedsem. [439] He nevertheless described himself as a "man of peace" rather than a pacifist. [455] While identifying with socialism, he opposed forms of socialism like MarxismLeninism which promoted communism, being critical of MarxismLeninism's promotion of atheism. Omissions? Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican archbishop best known for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa, for which he received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984. Archbishop Desmond Tutu to lie in state in Cape Town for two days. [419] On Fridays, he fasted until supper. Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Prize-winning South African cleric who became the voice of the fight against the institutional segregation of apartheid, has died at the age of 90. For more than a century, these academic institutions have worked independently to select Nobel Prize laureates. [167] In the aftermath, a meeting was organised between 20 church leaders including Tutu, Prime Minister P. W. Botha, and seven government ministers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for opposing apartheid. Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize. [363], In October 2010, Tutu announced his retirement from public life so that he could spend more time "at home with my family reading and writing and praying and thinking". [159] Tutu also signed a petition calling for the release of ANC activist Nelson Mandela,[160] leading to a correspondence between the pair. [469] In the latter country, he was able to rise to prominence as a South African anti-apartheid activist becauseunlike Mandela and other members of the ANChe had no links to the South African Communist Party and thus was more acceptable to Americans amid the Cold War anti-communist sentiment of the period. [458] In 1986, Tutu had defined Ubuntu: "It refers to gentleness, to compassion, to hospitality, to openness to others, to vulnerability, to be available to others and to know that you are bound up with them in the bundle of life. [32] In 1947, Tutu contracted tuberculosis and was hospitalised in Rietfontein for 18 months, during which he was regularly visited by Huddleston. View Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Washington, Nov. 9, 2007. [6] Zachariah worked as the principal of a Methodist primary school and the family lived in the mud-brick schoolmaster's house in the yard of the Methodist mission. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Desmond-Tutu, The Nobel Prize - Biography of Desmond Tutu, South African History Online - Biography of Mpilo Tutu, Academy of Achievement - Biography of Desmond Tutu, Desmond Tutu - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Desmond Tutu - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africa. [260] De Klerk then announced Nelson Mandela's release from prison; at the ANC's request, Mandela and his wife Winnie stayed at Bishopscourt on the former's first night of freedom. [157] Although retired archbishops normally return to the position of bishop, the other bishops gave him a new title: "archbishop emeritus". [422] He was even known to often pray while driving. [462] Unlike other theologians, like John Mbiti, who saw the traditions as largely incompatible, Tutu emphasised the similarities between the two. [400] He was very punctual,[401] and insisted on punctuality among those in his employ. [315] Nuttall suggested that Tutu become one of the TRC's seventeen commissioners, while in September a synod of bishops formally nominated him. [24] Aged 12, he underwent confirmation at St Mary's Church, Roodepoort. [294] Comparing the Israeli-Palestinian situation with that in South Africa, he said that "one reason we succeeded in South Africa that is missing in the Middle East is quality of leadership leaders willing to make unpopular compromises, to go against their own constituencies, because they have the wisdom to see that would ultimately make peace possible. [285] In July 1995, he visited Rwanda a year after the genocide, preaching to 10,000 people in Kigali, calling for justice to be tempered with mercy towards the Hutus who had orchestrated the genocide.