Tutu was born in Klerksdorp in 1931. His father was a teacher, his mother a domestic worker, and he was raised in an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding where, he says, he “never learned to hate”.
After studying at St. Peters Theological College in Johannesburg, he was ordained as an Anglican parish priest in 1961, and spent the next few years in England, obtaining a Bachelor of Divinity and a Masters in Theology at Kings College, London. He returned to South Africa to teach theology and serve as a chaplain at the University of Fort Hare. He lectured at the University of Botswana in Lesotho, and traveled to London again to serve as an assistant director for the World Council of Churches.
In 1975, Tutu was appointed the Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg. In 1976 he was consecrated Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 he was appointed as the first black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches.
In 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of “the courage and heroism shown by South Africans in their use of peaceful methods in the struggle against apartheid.”
In 1985, Tutu became Johannesburg’s first black Anglican bishop, and in 1986 the first black archbishop of Cape Town. He was elected as president of the All Africa Conference of Churches in 1987, and a year later, was made chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.
Today, Tutu holds over 100 honorary doctorates from universities around the world. He was awarded the International Gandhi Peace Prize on 31 January 2007 by the government of India. This prize is considered to be India’s highest international honour.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela says of Tutu, “Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu’s voice will always be the voice of the voiceless.”
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