199427 April and 10 May 1994 · Pretoria

South Africa's first democratic election and Mandela's inauguration

The Union Buildings in Pretoria, where Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president in May 1994 — Photo: Ruby D-Brown. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On 27 April 1994 South Africans of all races voted together for the first time, in queues that stretched for kilometres. The ANC won, and on 10 May Nelson Mandela was sworn in as president at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. A new constitution followed, guarded by a Constitutional Court built inside a former prison in Johannesburg.

Political History
Civil Rights & Human Rights
Johannesburg & Soweto, South Africa

Sites

Site 1: Union Buildings, PretoriaGovernment seat with a nine-metre Mandela statue on the lawns.Map ↗
Site 2: Constitution Hill, JohannesburgOld Fort prison complex, now home of the Constitutional Court.Map ↗