Anglican clergyman, born in Klerksdorp, N South Africa. He studied at the universities of South Africa and London, was briefly a schoolteacher, then became an Anglican parish priest (1960). He rapidly rose to become Bishop of Lesotho (1977), secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches (1979), the first black Bishop of Johannesburg (1984), and Archbishop of Cape Town (1986), retiring in 1996. A critic of the apartheid system, he repeatedly risked imprisonment for his advocacy of the imposition of punitive sanctions against South Africa by the international community. He condemned the use of violence by opponents of apartheid, seeking instead a peaceful, negotiated reconciliation between the black and white communities. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984, and was appointed chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995.
| Archbishop Desmond Tutu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
7 October 1931 Klerksdorp, Transvaal |
| Occupation | Cleric, Human Rights activist |
The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).
He was generally credited with coining the term Rainbow Nation as a metaphor to describe post-apartheid South Africa after 1994 under ANC rule.
Background
Born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, Tutu moved with his family to Johannesburg at the age of 12.
Tutu left his post as chaplain and travelled to King's College London, (1962–1966), where he received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Theology.
In 1972 Tutu returned to the UK, where he was appointed vice-director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches, at Bromley in Kent.
He has been married to Leah Nomalizo Tutu since 1955. They have four children: Trevor Thamsanqa Tutu, Theresa Thandeka Tutu, Naomi Nontombi Tutu and Mpho Andrea Tutu, all of whom attended the famous Waterford Kamhlaba School.
In 1996, Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In 2000 Tutu received a L.H.D. from Bates College and in 2005, Tutu received an honorary degree from the University of North Florida, one of the many universities in North America and Europe where he has taught.
In 2005, Tutu was named a Doctor of Humane Letters at Fordham University in The Bronx.
In 2006, Tutu was named a Doctor of Public Service at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where he was also the commencement speaker.
In 2007, Tutu will travel for 100 days with college students in the Semester at Sea program through the University of Virginia.
Political work
In 1976 protests in Soweto, also known as the Soweto Riots, against the government's use of Afrikaans as a compulsory medium of instruction in black schools became a massive uprising against apartheid.
Desmond Tutu was Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 until 1978, when he became Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. Though he was most firm in denouncing South Africa's white-ruled government, Tutu was also harsh in his criticism of the violent tactics of some anti-apartheid groups such as the African National Congress and denounced terrorism and Communism.
On 16 October 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa on 7 September 1986.
In 2004, Tutu returned to the UK as Visiting Professor in Post-Conflict Societies at King's College and gave the Commemoration Oration, as part of the College's 175th anniversary.
On 17 March 2004 Tutu visited Marymount to accept Marymount University's 2004 Ethics Award.
Political views
The Nobel laureate also has expressed support for the West Papuan independence movement, criticizing the United Nations' role in the takeover of West Papua by Indonesia. Tutu said: "For many years the people of South Africa suffered under the yoke of oppression and apartheid.
Tutu has also criticised human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, calling Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe a "caricature of an African dictator", and criticising the South African government's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe.
He warned of corruption shortly after the election of the African National Congress government of South Africa, saying that they "stopped the gravy train just long enough to get on themselves".
In June 1999, Tutu was invited to give the annual Wilberforce Lecture in Kingston upon Hull, commemorating the life and achievements of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce. Tutu used the occasion to praise the people of the city for their traditional support of freedom and for standing with the people of South Africa in their fight against apartheid. Commenting days after the 5 August 2003 election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man to be a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Desmond Tutu said, "In our Church here in South Africa, that doesn't make a difference.
Declared Tutu: "I am deeply saddened at a time when we've got such huge problems ... All."
He continued: "Isn't it sad, that in a time when we face so many devastating problems – poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict – that in our Communion we should be investing so much time and
energy on disagreement about sexual orientation?"
Tutu said the Communion, which "used to be known for embodying the attribute of comprehensiveness, of inclusiveness, where we were meant to accommodate all and diverse views, saying we may
differ in our theology but we belong together as sisters and brothers" now seems "hell-bent on excommunicating one another.
In January 2005, Tutu added his voice to the growing dissent over terrorist suspects held at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, referring to detentions without trial as "utterly unacceptable."
On 20 April 2005, following the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, Tutu said he was sad that The Roman Catholic Church was unlikely to change its opposition to condoms amidst the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa: "We would have hoped for someone more open to the more recent developments in the world, the whole question of the ministry of women and a more reasonable position with regards to condoms and HIV/AIDS."
In February 2006 Desmond Tutu took part in the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
In August 2006 Archbishop Tutu publicly urged Jacob Zuma, the South African politician who'd been accused of sexual crimes and corruption, to drop out of the ANC's presidential succession race. Tutu and Zuma’s public criticism of each other are reflections of a turbulent time in South African politics.
Views on Israel, Jews, and Judaism
Tutu has spoken eloquently on the large role of Jews in supporting the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa, in support for Israel's security and against tactics of suicide bombing and hate incitement, "In our struggle against apartheid, the great supporters were Jewish people.
Tutu is an active and prominent proponent of the campaign for divestment from Israel as a tool in the struggle of the Palestinian people against occupation . Tutu has also made statements about apartheid in Judaism before the establishment of the modern state of Israel, saying "the Jews thought they had a monopoly on God;
Because of their long history as victims of discrimination, Tutu has said the Jews should be held to a different standard than other peoples.
His comparisons of the Israeli treament of the Palestinians to the White South African Government's treatment of Black South Africans and comparisons of Zionism to racism have attracted widespread comment, including accusations of antisemitism .
Bibliography
Primary
Tutu is the author of seven collections of sermons and other writings:
Crying in the Wilderness (1982) Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1983) The Words of Desmond Tutu (1989) The Rainbow People of God (1994) The Essential Desmond Tutu (1997) No Future without Forgiveness (1999) God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time (2004)
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