Archbishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Archbishop Mpilo Desmond Tutu, world renowned preacher and strident voice against apartheid, first Black Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches, first Black Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award recognised his unifying role in the fight against apartheid. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee made specific mention of his part in the transition to democracy in South Africa. Despite sustained government harassment he was a staunch advocate of reconciliation between Blacks and Whites. Notwithstanding this significant award and congratulatory messages from governments across the globe, it was never celebrated by the South African government. This award pressured President P. W. Botha 's regime by its recognition of a visionary in the South African liberation struggle. Instead, Botha called Tutu a political preacher, undeserving of the award. At the time, Tutu joined Chief Albert Luthuli, also a persistent critic of apartheid, as South Africa's second Nobel Peace Prize laureate. One of Tutu's earliest acts against apartheid was when he quitted his teaching post in protest against the Bantu Education Act of 1953 designed to drastically reduce the education standards of Black South Africans. Click here to read Tutu's acceptance speech.