Eulogy

By Nelson R. Mandela

The preamble to our founding constitution speaks of honoring those who suffered for justice and freedom in our country and respecting those who have worked to build and develop our country. Chief among the latter must stand HARRY OPPENHEIMER and his family; that they also fought in a particular manner for the former sets them apart in the gallery of South African patriots. I shall remember Harry as a man of exquisite grace and charm, a person with a simplicity and directness that was disarming in its spontaneity, and one who was accessible way beyond what was assumed about a person in his position. His support for democratic and philanthropic causes was in my experience always without hesitation and reserve. His contribution to building a partnership between Big Business and the new democratic government in that first period of democratic rule can never be appreciated too much. We join with those millions of our compatriots who mourn with the family and hail a person who was monumentally instrumental in helping this country be the economic leader it is today. We mourn with his family, remember his heritage and look forward to the day that all of South Africa shall share equally in the prosperity he helped create for this country.

--Nelson R. Mandela