Nelson Mandela’s bodyguard set to give inspirational talk at Exeter
Students will this week receive a first-hand account of the leadership of Nelson Mandela during the visit to Exeter of his former bodyguard. Chris Lubbe was Mandela’s bodyguard for nine years and witnessed how his unique leadership style was so instrumental in South Africa’s peaceful transition from apartheid to a modern democracy. For the opening talk in the new Leading Edge speaker series, Chris will tell his story about growing up during South Africa’s apartheid regime and share his insights into leadership gleaned from Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Chris grew up in a Shanty Town in Durban, South Africa, at a time when education was ‘weaponised’ by the apartheid regime, with a university education being free for white students, but not for Black and other racial minorities. His dream was to become a pilot but despite getting good grades at high school, when he applied for an apprenticeship he was told he didn’t qualify. “There are probably millions and millions of people in my position whose dreams were short-circuited because of the colour of their skin,” he says. Understanding that education was his way out of poverty, Chris became a student activist and organised peaceful protests at his high school that were met…
