Updated: December 06, 2013, 12:00 AM
In pictures: Nelson Mandela, a leader admired by world leaders
South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II ride in a carriage outside Buckingham Palace on the first day of a state visit to Britain, on July 9, 1996 file photo. Reuters
Mandela with the Dalai Lama, left, walks hand-in-hand with South African President Nelson Mandela prior to an official reception at the presidential office in Cape Town, South Africa. Sasa Kralj / AP Photo
Mandela, right, and then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat gesture during a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. Sasa Kralj / AP Photo
US President George W Bush meets with Mandela (L) in the Oval Office of the White House on May 17, 2005. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, right, shakes hands with South African President Nelson Mandela in Moscow. Misha Japaridze / AP Photo
Former South African president Nelson Mandela is assisted by the former British prime minister Tony Blair and former US president Bill Clinton after attending a Gala night in London on July 2, 2003. Chris Young / Reuters
France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy with Mandela during their visit to the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg on February 29, 2008. Remy de la Mauviniere / Reuters
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, shares a laugh with South Africa President Nelson Mandela at a meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland. Patrick Aviolat / Keystone / AP Photo
Gordon Brown applauds Mandela during a statue unveiling ceremony in Nelson Mandela’s honour at Parliament Square on August 29, 2007 in London. Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images
Palestine Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas with Mandela. Kim Ludbrook /
Mandela shares a joke with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates after their meeting at Mandela’s residence in Cape Town in 1997. Reuters
Nelson Mandela with The Elders, from L-R Graca Machel, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Gro Brundtland, Martti Ahtisaari, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi and Nelson Mandela (seated) on May 29, 2010 in Johannesburg. Nelson Mandela, who founded The Elders in 2007, met members of the group at a private lunch in Johannesburg. The Elders, tasked by Mandela to be ‘a fiercely independent and robust force for good’ are holding one of their regular meetings in South Africa. Jeff Moore via Getty Images
It wasn’t just world leaders who adored Mandela. Here Madiba poses with Oprah Winfrey in Henley, Johannesburg. Juda Ngwenya / Reuters
Then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Mandela and his wife Graca Machel at his home in Qunu in this August 6, 2012 file photo. Jacquelyn Martin / Pool
Chef Gordon Ramsay meets Nelson Mandela during a lunch to Benefit the Mandela Children’s Foundation. Chris Jackson / Getty Images
Nelson Mandela embraces British model Naomi Campbell in front of US actress Mia Farrow, British model Kate Moss and US model Christy Turlingto, at Genadendal, his Cape Town home. Anna Zieminski / AFP Photo
Mandela and Irish rock star Bono in 2002. Juda Ngwenya / Reuters
Britain’s Prince Charles shares a light moment with Nelson Mandela during a show at the Amsterdam arena in 2002. Robin Utrecht / Reuters