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List of dignitaries at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela

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This is a list of dignitaries at the state memorial service of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa.[1] Mandela died on 5 December 2013. Many heads of state and government attended the state memorial service on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The memorial service was one of the largest gatherings of world leaders.[2] It was also the largest funeral in the history of South Africa, and the African continent itself.

Two UN secretaries-general, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, two French presidents, four United States presidents, and four UK prime ministers attended the funeral service. In total, more than 500 VIP dignitaries from 19 supranational organizations and approximately 190 countries had arrived for this event. Some of the dignitaries later attended the burial ceremony on 15 December 2013 at Mandela's hometown, Qunu.

This memorial event was one of the largest in the world in terms of foreign leaders, along with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.

Dignitaries

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Heads of state and government

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South African President Jacob Zuma waiting to take the stage at the FNB Stadium
Barack and Michelle Obama seated next to Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt
President Yayi Boni of Benin greeting other dignitaries
Crowd at the stadium
Crowd at the stadium
Country Title Dignitary
 South Africa President Jacob Zuma
 Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai[3]
 Albania Prime minister Sali Berisha
 Andorra Prime minister Antoni Marti
 Antigua and Barbuda Prime minister Baldwin Spencer
 Australia Prime minister Tony Abbott
 Austria Chancellor Werner Faymann
 Bahamas Prime minister Perry Christie
 Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid
 Belgium King Philippe
Prime minister Elio Di Rupo
 Belize Prime minister Dean Barrow
 Benin President Yayi Boni
 Botswana President Ian Khama[4]
 Brazil President Dilma Rousseff
 Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza
 Canada Prime minister Stephen Harper
 Chad President Idriss Déby
 Chile President Sebastián Piñera
 Comoros President Ikililou Dhoinine
 Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila
 Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso
 Croatia President Ivo Josipović
 Cuba President Raúl Castro
 Denmark Prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
 Djibouti President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
 Dominica President Eliud Williams
 Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina
 East Timor Prime minister Xanana Gusmão
 Egypt Prime minister Hazem Al Beblawi (Acting)
 Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
 Ethiopia Prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn
 Finland President Sauli Niinistö
 France/ Andorra President/co-prince François Hollande
 Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba
 The Gambia President Yahya Jammeh[5]
 Germany President Joachim Gauck
Chancellor Angela Merkel
 Ghana President John Dramani Mahama
 Greece Prime minister Antonis Samaras
 Grenada Prime minister Keith Mitchell
 Guinea President Alpha Condé
 Guyana President Donald Ramotar
 Haiti President Michel Martelly
Prime minister Laurent Lamothe
 Holy See Prime minister Angelo Sodano
 Hungary Prime minister Viktor Orbán
 Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson
 India President Pranab Mukherjee[6]
 Iran President Hassan Rouhani
 Iraq President Jalal Talabani
 Ireland President Michael D. Higgins[7]
 Italy Prime minister Enrico Letta
 Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara
 Jamaica Prime minister Portia Simpson-Miller
 Jordan Prime minister Abdullah Ensour
 Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta
 Latvia President Andris Berzins
 Lebanon Prime minister Najib Mikati
 Lesotho Prime minister Tom Thabane
King King Letsie III
 Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
 Liechtenstein Prime minister Adrian Hasler
 Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri
 Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina
 Malawi President Joyce Banda
 Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
 Malta Prime minister Joseph Muscat
 Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
 Mauritius Prime minister Navin Ramgoolam
 Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto
 Monaco Sovereign Prince Albert II
 Montenegro President Filip Vujanovic
 Mozambique President Armando Guebuza
 Namibia President Hifikepunye Pohamba
 Netherlands King Willem-Alexander
Prime minister Mark Rutte
 New Zealand Prime minister John Key
 Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou
 Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan
 Norway Prime minister Erna Solberg[8]
 Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain
 State of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas
 Poland Prime minister Donald Tusk
 Portugal President Aníbal Cavaco Silva
 Romania Prime minister Victor Ponta[9]
 Rwanda President Paul Kagame
 Sahrawi Republic President Mohammed Abdelaziz
 Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime minister Denzil Douglas
 Saint Lucia Prime minister Kenny Anthony
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime minister Ralph Gonsalves
 Senegal President Macky Sall
 Serbia President Tomislav Nikolić
 Seychelles President James Michel
 Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma
 Slovakia President Ivan Gasparovic
 Slovenia President Borut Pahor
 Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud[citation needed]
 South Korea Prime minister Jung Hong-won
 South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit
 Spain Prime minister Mariano Rajoy[10]
 Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa
 Sudan President Omar al-Bashir
 Suriname President Dési Bouterse
 Swaziland Prime minister Sibusiso Dlamini
 Sweden Prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
  Switzerland President Ueli Maurer
 Syria President Bashar al-Assad
 Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete
 Togo President Faure Gnassingbe
 Trinidad and Tobago Prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
 Tunisia President Moncef Marzouki
 Uganda President Yoweri Museveni
 United Kingdom Prime minister David Cameron
 United States President Barack Obama[11]
 Uruguay President Jose Mujica
 Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro
 Vanuatu Prime minister Ham Lini
 Zambia President Michael Sata
 Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe

Other royalty

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Country Title Dignitary
 Belgium Queen Queen Mathilde
 Denmark Crown Prince Prince Frederik
 Japan Crown Prince Prince Naruhito
 Jordan Queen Consort Queen Rania
MonacoSouth Africa Monaco Princess Consort Princess Charlene[a]
 Morocco Prince Prince Moulay Rachid
 Norway Crown Prince Prince Haakon
 Saudi Arabia Prince Prince Muqrin
 Spain Crown Prince Prince Felipe
 Sweden Crown Princess Princess Victoria
 United Kingdom Prince of Wales Prince Charles
 United Kingdom Duke of Cambridge Prince William
 United Kingdom Prince Prince Harry

Government representatives

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Country Title Dignitary
 South Africa Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe
 Algeria Speaker of the Council of the Nation Abdelkader Bensalah
 Angola Vice-president Manuel Vicente
 Antigua and Barbuda High Commissioner Carl Ruberts
Ambassador Robert Murdoch
 Argentina Vice-president Amado Boudou
 Barbados Foreign Minister Maxine McClean
 Belarus Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Viktor Guminsky[12]
 British Virgin Islands Foreign Minister Orlando Smith
 Bulgaria Deputy Prime Minister Angel Velichkov
 Canada Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil
Premier of the Yukon Darrell Pasloski
Alberta Premier Alison Redford
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair
Foreign Minister John Baird
 Central African Republic Deputy Prime Minister Samuel Rangba
 China Vice-president Li Yuanchao[13]
 Colombia Vice-president Angelino Garzón
 Cuba Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez
 Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Kohout
 Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño
 Estonia Foreign Minister Urmas Paet[14]
 Ethiopia State Minister Surafiel Mhreteab Abed
 France Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Laurent Fabius[15]
Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira
 Greece Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos
 Holy See President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Peter Cardinal Turkson
 Hungary Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén
 India Chairperson of the National Advisory Council Sonia Gandhi[16]
Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj
 Iran Vice-president Mohammad Shariatmadari
 Ireland Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore[7]
 Israel President of the Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein
Knesset representatives 5 Speakers
 Italy President of the Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini
 Lesotho Foreign Minister Mohlabi Tsekoa
 Lithuania Government Representative Gitanas Nausėda
 Malawi Foreign Minister Ephraim Chiume
 Malaysia Minister of the Federal Territories Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor[17]
Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Maximus Ongkili
 Netherlands Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans
 Nicaragua Vice-president Moises Omar Halleslevens Acevedo
 Poland Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski
 Peru Vice-president Marisol Espinoza[citation needed]
 Philippines Vice-president Jejomar Binay[18]
 Russia Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko
 Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam[19]
 Slovakia Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak
 Sudan Vice-president Bakri Hassan Salih
 Turkey Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay[20]
 Ukraine Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara
 United Arab Emirates Minister of Culture Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan
 United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg[21]
Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband
Mayor of London Boris Johnson
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
 United States Attorney General Eric Holder
National Security Advisor Susan Rice[11]
Senator from Texas Ted Cruz
United States Congress representatives 26 members of Congress
 US Virgin Islands Deputy Minister Donna Christian Christensen
 Tanzania Foreign Minister Bernard Membe
Representative from Chama Cha Mapinduzi Vicky Swai
 Vietnam Chairman of the Presidential Office Đào Việt Trung
 Zambia Vice-president Guy Scott
Foreign Minister Wilbur Simuusa
 Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi

International organisations

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Organisation Title Dignitary
 Arab League President Samir Hosny
African Union Chairperson of the AU Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
 Commonwealth of Nations Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma
 Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland
European Union European Council President Herman Van Rompuy
 European Union President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso
 European Union President of Parliament Martin Schultz
 European Union Head of Delegation Roeland van der Geer
FAO President José Graziano da Silva
ILO President Guy Ryder
International Monetary Fund Managing director Christine Lagarde
International Organization for Migration Director general William Lacy Swing
 NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
OECD Secretary General José Ángel Gurría
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier
Southern African Development Community Secretary General Stergomena Tax
 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
 United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay
 UNESCO Director general Irina Bokova
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime President Yuri Fedotov
World Food Programme President Ertharin Cousin
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

Former heads of state / government

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Country / Org Title Dignitary
 Australia Former Prime Minister Paul Keating
 Brazil 31st President José Sarney
32nd President Fernando Collor de Mello
34th President Fernando Henrique Cardoso
35th President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
 Canada 16th Prime Minister Joe Clark
18th Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
19th Prime Minister Kim Campbell
20th Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
26th Governor General Adrienne Clarkson
27th Governor General Michaëlle Jean
 Colombia 30th President Andrés Pastrana[22]
 Finland 10th President Martti Ahtisaari
40th Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
 France 23rd President Nicolas Sarkozy
164th Prime Minister Alain Juppé
165th Prime Minister Lionel Jospin
 Germany 13th President Horst Köhler
 Ghana 1st President (Fourth Republic) Jerry Rawlings
 Iran 5th President Mohammad Khatami
 Ireland 7th President Mary Robinson[7]
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
 Italy Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
 Japan 58th Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
 Namibia 1st President Sam Nujoma
 New Zealand 35th Prime Minister Jim Bolger
 Nigeria 1st President (Fourth Republic) Olusegun Obasanjo
11th Vice President Atiku Abubakar
 Norway 27th Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
 Poland 2nd President Lech Wałęsa
 Romania 3rd President Emil Constantinescu
 Russia Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
 South Africa State President / 1st Deputy President Frederik Willem De Klerk
2nd President Thabo Mbeki
3rd President Kgalema Motlanthe
 United Kingdom former Prime Minister John Major
former Prime Minister Tony Blair
former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
 United States 39th President Jimmy Carter[11]
42nd President Bill Clinton[11]
43rd President George W. Bush[11]
 Tanzania Former Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein
 Zambia 1st President Kenneth Kaunda
 African Union Former President Alpha Oumar Konare
 United Nations 7th Secretary General Kofi Annan

Other guests

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Bono and his wife Ali Hewson greet President Obama at the memorial service

This section is a partial list of notable guests who attended the memorial service.

Non-attendance

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  •  Germany: Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who frequently attended funerals of world leaders during his term of office, did not attend. Germany's former leaders did not usually attend world leaders' funerals.
  •  Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was expected to attend the service but had to cancel his visit due to the visit of his Russian counterpart in Tehran.[24]
  •  Israel: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not attend the memorial service citing financial and security reasons.[25]
  •  Republic of China (Taiwan): The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to not send a delegation because of the time constraint. Instead, Foreign Minister David Lin personally visited the Liaison Office of South Africa to convey condolences over the death of Mandela. In addition, the Representative of the ROC to South Africa visited the Union Buildings in Pretoria to view the remains of Mandela and pay respects on behalf of the ROC government.[26]
  •  Thailand: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was expected to attend but declined due to ongoing protests against her government.
  •  Tibet: The 14th Dalai Lama was expected to attend the service but was denied a visa by the South African government.[27]
  •  The Vatican: Pope Francis was sent an invitation to attend either the memorial or state funeral.[27] He did not attend either because it was against the tradition that Popes do not usually attend funerals of world leaders.
  •  Vietnam: President Trương Tấn Sang did not attend the service due to the time constraint. The country was represented by Đào Việt Trung, Chairman of the Presidential Office.

References

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  1. ^ Charlene was a native citizen of South Africa before her marriage to Prince Albert II.
  1. ^ "Confirmation of foreign Heads of State and Government attending the memorial services or funeral". South Africa Government Online. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  2. ^ "About 70 Heads of State to attend Mandela's memorial service". sanews.gov.za. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Afghan president leaves for South Africa to attend Mandela's memorial service – Xinhua | English.news.cn". Big5.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Botswana president to attend memorial service for Mandela in South Africa – Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  5. ^ 10 December 2013. "Gambia: President Jammeh to Attend Mandela's Memorial Service". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Mukherjee to attend Mandela's memorial service in Johannesburg today". Newstrackindia.com. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Higgins, Gilmore in SA for Mandela service Irish Times, 2013-12-09.
  8. ^ Kronprinsen og Solberg på Mandela-minneseremoni TV2. Retrieved 9 December 2013 (in Norwegian)
  9. ^ Victor Ponta with Barack Obama in South Africa. Retrieved 10 December 2013
  10. ^ "Prince and President to attend Mandela's memorial – Euro Weekly News Spain". euroweeklynews.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Obama, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton Share Flight to South Africa. The New York Times. 10 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Guminsky to attend Mandela's memorial events in South Africa – Politics – Belarus News | Belarusian news | Belarus today | news in Belarus | Minsk news | BELTA". News.belta.by. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Chinese VP to attend Mandela's funeral". China Daily. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Paet to Represent Estonia at Mandela Memorial Ceremony Tuesday | News | ERR". News. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  15. ^ "Hommage à Mandela: une centaine de personnalités à la cérémonie de Soweto". The Huffington Post. 9 December 2013.
  16. ^ "President, Sonia leave for Mandela memorial service". The Times of India. 9 December 2013.
  17. ^ Two ministers to attend Mandela state funeral
  18. ^ Binay leaves for Mandela funeral
  19. ^ "Singapore deputy PM to attend state memorial service for Nelson Mandela – Xinhua | English.news.cn". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Mandela'nın cenazesine Beşir Atalay katılıyor". BBC. 10 December 2013.
  21. ^ a b c d e Nelson Mandela memorial guest list. The Daily Telegraph. 10 December 2013.
  22. ^ EFE (8 December 2013). "Comisión colombiana parte a Sudáfrica para asistir a funeral de Nelson Mandela" (in Spanish). El Espectador. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Obama, Castro shake hands as world says farewell to peacemaker Mandela. Reuters. 10 December 2013.
  24. ^ Uimonen, Paula (1 January 2015). "Mourning Mandela: sacred drama and digital visuality in Cape Town". Journal of Aesthetics & Culture. 7 (1): 28178. doi:10.3402/jac.v7.28178. ISSN 2000-4214. S2CID 162905653.
  25. ^ "Netanyahu Won't Attend Mandela Memorial". www.israelnationalnews.com. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  26. ^ "No invite needed for Mandela's funeral – the China Post". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  27. ^ a b Nelson Mandela memorial guest list Daily Telegraph, 10 December 2013.
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