Oliver Tambo | |
---|---|
Born |
Oliver Reginald Tambo 27 October 1917 Nkantolo, Bizana, South Africa |
Died | 24 April 1993 Johannesburg, South Africa |
(aged 75)
Nationality | South African |
Occupation | Teacher and lawyer |
Known for | President of the African National Congress |
Spouse(s) | Adelaide Tambo |
Children | Dali Tambo (son) |
Oliver Reginald Tambo (27 October 1917 – 24 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.
Oliver Reginald Tambo (fondly known as O. R.) was born on 27 October 1917, his father was Mzimeni and his mother was called Julia. He was born in the village of Nkantolo in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape. He attended a school at Holy Cross Mission School, and then transferred to St. Peters in Johannesburg. Tambo matriculated in 1938 as one of the top students. After this Tambo qualified to do his university degree at the University of Fort Hare. In 1940 he, along with several others including Nelson Mandela, was expelled from Fort Hare University for participating in a student strike. In 1942 Tambo returned to his former high school in Johannesburg to teach science and mathematics. Tambo, along with Mandela and Walter Sisulu, were the founding members of the ANC Youth League in 1943, becoming its first National Secretary and a member of the National Executive in 1948. The youth league proposed a change in tactics of the anti-apartheid movement. Previously the ANC had sought to further its cause by actions such as petitions and demonstrations; the Youth League felt these actions were insufficient to achieve the group's goals and proposed their own 'Programme of Action'. This programme advocated tactics such as boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes and non-collaboration.
In 1955, Tambo became Secretary General of the ANC after Walter Sisulu was banned by the South African government under the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1958 he became Deputy President of the ANC and in 1959 was served with a five-year banning order by the government.