Obama Praises "icon" Mandela

Obama praises "icon" mandela

The US President has paid tribute to Nelson Mandela as "the last great liberator of the 20th century" at a memorial service in Johannesburg today. Barack Obama is one of many world leaders and thousands of ordinary people attending the memorial service in Soweto to celebrate his life. Friends and family are paying tribute to the man who united South Africa. President Obama says Nelson Mandela will be remembered as an "icon". "Given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, the adoration that he so rightly earned - it's tempting I think to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men" he said. "But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait" he added.