List of dignitaries at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela

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
   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 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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