* Mandela, in failing health, receives few visitors
* U.S. Secretary of State is friend of the ex-president
QUNU, South Africa Aug 6 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton met her friend and former South African
President Nelson Mandela at his country home on Monday, taking a
break from her multi-nation trade and security tour through
Africa.
Mandela, in failing health, has only seen a few visitors
outside his family in recent years. He met Hillary’s husband and
former U.S. President Bill Clinton last month for the 94th
birthday of the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate.
Hillary Clinton was greeted at the salmon-coloured house set
amid rolling hills by Mandela’s wife Graca Machel.
Mandela’s single term as president from 1994 to 1999 came
during the Clinton presidency, with Mandela and the Clintons
meeting often during the period.
Hillary Clinton, then first lady, was one of the leaders of
the U.S. delegation for Mandela’s inauguration as South Africa’s
first democratically elected president, calling it a “milestone
of the 20th century”.
“I was on the verge of tears the whole time,” she said just
after the event in 1994.
A few months later, the Clintons welcomed Mandela with a
state dinner at the White House.
Continued…
