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JOHANNESBURG : Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, celebrated his 91st birthday on Saturday with the launch of a special day for good deeds to be done in his name.
Surrounded by family and anti-apartheid stalwarts at his home in Johannesburg, the increasingly frail elder statesman was showered with messages of goodwill from world leaders to ordinary South Africans.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led the international plaudits by describing Mandela as "a living embodiment of the highest values of the United Nations.
"His commitment to a democratic, multi-racial South Africa, his steadfast pursuit of justice, his willingness to reconcile with those who persecuted him most -- these are just some of the hallmarks of a remarkable man," Ban said.
"May we all continue to benefit from his wisdom, his good works and good humor for many years to come."
The former South African leader has called on people around the world to honour him by doing good deeds on Saturday as his charitable foundation launches the inaugural Mandela Day -- to be held on July 18 each year.
"Mandela Day is an annual celebration of Nelson Mandela?s life and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and change the world around them," his foundation said.
The initiative has received UN backing.
"I warmly welcome the global campaign to recognize the birthday of Nelson Mandela, July 18, as an annual opportunity to celebrate this great man and the values and principles that he has come personify over the past seven decades," said president of the UN General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann.
"I hope that Mandela Day will eventually be celebrated as a United Nations international day to serve as an inspiration, in particularly to our young people, and as invitation to join forces in the ever-more complex and urgent campaigns against poverty, racism, ignorance and violence."
Celebrations were to be held in Mandela's honour from Johannesburg to New York, where Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will join a glittering line-up led by Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.
It will be the first time France's 41-year-old first lady, a former model and musician, has performed in public since marrying President Nicolas Sarkozy in January 2008.
Family also paid tribute to their beloved Madiba -- the clan title by which Mandela is affectionately known.
"Granddad is in great spirits and enjoying the day, he is so happy to be surrounded by friends and family and the entire leadership of the ruling party," said his eldest grandson Mandla Zwelivelile. "It is a great day for him."
Throughout the day there was a steady trickle of well-wishers through Mandela's home in Johannesburg's well-heeled northern suburb of Houghton where a white marquee had been erected next to the house, behind tall security walls.
Renditions of "Happy Birthday" were heard, sung in English and Mandela's Xhosa.
South African President Jacob Zuma praised Mandela as a beacon of hope, saying it had taken too long for the country to celebrate "this gold that is Nelson Mandela.
"If there is a story to be told of an icon that inspires the world, characterised by the humility, warm humanity and a will for prosperity, then Madiba's 91-year life story offers a story of life worth living.
"Madiba taught us that we couldn't live in peace in South Africa while the rest of Africa suffered the scourge of conflict and war."
This year's birthday marks the inaugural Mandela Day, initiated by his charitable foundation in honour of the much-loved icon. Oprah Winfrey, a long-time Mandela friend, is among the big names who have pledged their support for the day.
People around the world are being urged to dedicate 67 minutes of their day to volunteer their time for community service. The number reflects the number of years since Mandela took up the struggle for equality in South Africa.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years by the apartheid state but emerged from Robben Island prison in 1990 committed to democracy and negotiated a deal that led to universal suffrage and the country's first black presidency.
In 1993 Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, which he shared with then South African president F.W. De Klerk.
The much-loved Nobel peace laureate only served one term as president, in which he was seen as a multi-racial unifier in the country's post-apartheid uncertainty.
The 91-year-old, who campaigns extensively for children and AIDS awareness, is still seen as one of the world's most respected statesmen despite having officially retired from public duty.
- AFP
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