Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu

The South African cleric and activist Desmond Tutu, who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid, was actively interested in the work of Freedom Under Law practically up until his death in December 2021. From 1986 to 1996 Archbishop Tutu served as Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the first black South African to do so. He is perhaps best known in his own country for chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission subsequent to the fall of apartheid, and also served as the honorary chairman of the Global AIDS Alliance. Among his many awards and honours were a slew of honorary degrees, the Nobel Peace Prize (1984), the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism (1986), the Magubela Prize for Liberty (1986), the Pacem in Terris Award (1987), the Sydney Peace Prize (1987), the Gandhi Peace Prize (2007), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) and in 2013 the Templeton Prize “for his life-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which has helped to liberate people around the world”.