Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Biography

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on the 7 October 1931 in Klerksdorp in South Africa. He was the children of a teacher and a cleaning woman.

Tutu moved with his family to Johannesburg at age 12 in order to study in the secondary school. He wanted to become a physician, but his family could not afford the studies and as his father, he became teacher in Bantu High School from 1954 to 1957. He resigned from his job to protest against the bad quality of black’s education. During these years, he had been married to Leah Nomalizo Tutu

Then, he studies theology in England and in 1960 was ordained as an Anglican priest. He became chaplain at the University of Fort Hare in 1961. In 1966, he came back in South Africa to teach theology until 1972. Just after, he returned to England and he was appointed vice-director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches.

In 1975, he became the first black dean of the Johannesburg’s diocese. From 1976 until 1978, he was the bishop of Lesotho and he became Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches from 1978 until 1985. His lectures of peace and nonviolence were enjoyed by lots of people. They were considered as very important events in peaceful protests against the Afrikaners governments. He denounced much as apartheid as black people who clamed revenge.

On October 16, 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa.

On September 7, 1989, Tutu became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa as his role of archbishop of Cap

Just after the abolition of the apartheid, in 1995, Nelson Mendela in person, designed Desmond Tutu as the leader of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and thanks to this role, he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999.

Nowadays, Desmond Mpilo Tutu still takes part of the political life of