Two of the leaders who ushered in greater political freedoms in South Africa and the former Soviet Union are in the hospital as both grow older and face new battles — their health.
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According to The Associated Press, former South African president Nelson Mandela, 94, and former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 82, are in the hospital.
Gorbachev, 82, is in the Kremlin’s hospital today for routine tests after being taken to a suburban Moscow Tuesday. During a speech in March he complained of problems with his health and in April was unable to attend former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s funeral, according to The Associated Press reports.
Mandela, who is fighting off a recurring lung infection, was responding better to treatment Wednesday after “a difficult last few days,” South Africa’s president told his parliament on the 49th anniversary of Mandela’s sentencing under apartheid rule for his activities as a militant African National Congress leader.
During his 27-year imprisonment, Mandela became an international beacon for the anti-apartheid movement. He was released in 1990 and in 1994 became the country’s first black president.
“Our country is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994, even though we still have so much work to do,” Zuma said in the AP reports.
This is the fourth time Mandela has been hospitalized since December, the AP reported.
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- Former Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, admitted to hospital for tests (independent.co.uk)
- Mandela still in serious condition, South Africa says (foxnews.com)
- Mandela in hospital for second night (bbc.co.uk)