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Queen Elizabeth has paid tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu as a ‘tireless champion of human rights’ following his death aged 90.
Tutu, who helped end the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, died in Cape Town on Boxing Day.
In a message of condolence, the Queen said the whole royal family were ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.
The message said: ‘I am joined by the whole Royal Family in being deeply saddened by the news of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man who tirelessly championed human rights in South Africa and across the world.
‘I remember with fondness my meetings with him and his great warmth and humour. Archbishop Tutu’s loss will be felt by the people of South Africa, and by so many people in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and across the Commonwealth, where he was held in such high affection and esteem.’
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Tributes from across the world have flooded in for the South African clergyman, with the Dalai Lama calling him a ‘true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights’.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was a veteran of the country’s struggle against white minority rule, working alongside Nelson Mandela.
Buoyant and blunt-spoken, he used his pulpit as the first black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town to galvanise public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said: ‘The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa.’
Tutu died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town. A cause of death has not been given.
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Described as ‘man of words and action’ by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Tutu used his prominence in the church to push for meaningful change – not just at home but across the globe.
His homely manner, his obvious personal kindness and his wit endeared him more than ever to the proponents worldwide of the anti-apartheid cause.
He showed no fear of the brutal South African regime which seemed almost permanently embarrassed by a man whose supreme standing in the church made it virtually impossible for them to bully or harass him.
It is said that Tutu did as much as anyone, including even Nelson Mandela, to bring apartheid in South Africa to its knees. His efforts led to the formation of a democratically elected government under Mandela himself.
Tutu was generally credited with coining the term ‘Rainbow Nation’ as a metaphor to describe the post-apartheid South Africa after 1994 under African National Congress rule.
‘Like falling in love’ is how he described voting in the country’s first democratic election that same year – a remark that captured both his puckish humour and profound emotions.
Even after the end of apartheid, Tutu never wavered in his fight for a fairer South Africa, calling the black political elite to account with as much feistiness as he had the white Afrikaners.
In his final years, he regretted that his dream of a Rainbow Nation had not yet come true – as deep structural inequalities continue to persist in the country.
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