President Nelson MandelaSome personal refiectionslan Goldin,
Professor of Globalisation and Development, and Director, Oxford
Martin School, University of Oxford*
President Mandela stands in the pantheon of political leaders.He
was blessed with an extraordinary ability, intelligence andmemory,
but it was his character that sets him head andshoulders above
other leaders. Modesty, patience and a genuineinterest in ordinary
people, honed from his 27 years in prison,made him unique, as did
his relentless honesty and upholdingof principles of human rights.
It was these ideals that placed himin prison in the first place,
after he refused to bow to apartheid.
Having met Nelson Mandela soon after his release from prison
onhis first visit to Paris, when I was at the OEGD from 1988 to
1992, itwas a dream come true to be invited to join his government
as theGEO of the state-owned Development Bank of Southern
Africa,which became the most significant provider of municipal
and
A towering personality with a beautiful mind,who endured too
much
infrastructure finance in southern Africa, It was a privilege to
beintimately involved in discussions on economic policy and
toaccompany President Mandela on numerous state visits, includingto
France and the UK, and to engage on his behalf in otheractivities,
such as taking the financial lead for South Africa'sOljrmpic bid.
South Africa did not win the bid, but as with thedecisions to host
the rugby and football World Gups, Mandelaunderstood that beyond
the essential economic benefits, thewidely shared love of sport
could heal the wounds of a raciallydivided nation seeking to
overcome the legacy of apartheid.
President Mandela was an extraordinary listener, with the
razor-sharp mind of a top trial lawyer delving into every detail of
anissue until he had mastered it. Once this was the case, he had
a
remarkable ability to retain facts and conversations. So,
forexample, in a conversation he was keen to drill down with meinto
the significance of savings and interest rates and then yearslater
repeated the arguments in response to a media question.Under
President Mandela's leadership, the ruling African NationalGongress
party transformed its economic policies to allow for thefull
integration of South Africa into the global economy and
theestablishment of sustainable macroeconomic policy. The
economyreduced protectionism that had been reinforced by
apartheidsanctions and high tariff walls and became the driver of
economicgrowth in the southern Africa region, as well as a leading
memberof the reinvigorated African growth strategy and a key member
ofthe BRIGS,
While having a finely tuned understanding of politics and
anencyclopaedic knowledge, Mandela was a great leveller, making
apoint of calling all presidents (and even royalty) by their
firstnames, and invariably flummoxing security by heading into
thekitchens to thank the chefs or into the offices to thank a
secretary.His charisma and natural ability meant that
everyone-includingQueen Elizabeth and Presidents Bill Glinton and
Jacques Ghirac-felt humbled in his presence.
He was a towering personality with a beautiful mind, whoendured
too much. The world badly needs great leaders. Thetragedy of
Mandela's passing is that it underlines the rarity of
hisextraordinary combination of courage, commitment,
charisma,intelligence, self-sacrifice and, rarest of all,
wisdom.
Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, was
born in Mvezo, SouthAfrica, on 18 July 1918, and died in
Johannesburg, South Africa, on 5 December 2013,*ian Goldin worked
at the OECD from 1988 to 1992
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