Desmond Tutu

Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, and educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. He trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study theology, and was ordained in 1960. He became chaplain at the University of Fort Hare, a centre of political opposition to apartheid, and one of the few quality universities for black students in southern Africa. From 1962-1966 he studied at King's College, London, where he received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Theology. He returned to South Africa from 1967 until 1972, and was then appointed vice-director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches, at Bromley in Kent. In 1975 he was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg—the first black person to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. On October 16, 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee cited his "role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa" Tutu became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa on September 7, 1986. After the fall of apartheid, he headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for which he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999. In 2004, Tutu returned to the UK as Visiting Professor in Post-Conflict Societies at King's College and gave the Commemoration Oration at the College's 175th anniversary. Tutu is an honorary doctor of a number of leading universities in the USA, Britain and Germany. He has been married to Leah Nomalizo Tutu since 1955. They have four children: Trevor Thamsanqa, Theresa Thandeka, Naomi Nontombi and Mpho Andrea. In October 2001, TAC Chairperson Zackie Achmat was awarded the first Desmond Tutu Leadership Award.