Question 1

True or false: Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Accepted Answer

True. He became president in 1994 after the end of apartheid, in the country's first fully democratic election.

Question 2

True or false: Nelson Mandela served three full terms as President of South Africa.

Accepted Answer

False. Nelson Mandela served one term as president from 1994 to 1999, choosing not to seek re-election.

Question 3

True or false: Nelson Mandela's autobiography was published while he was still imprisoned.

Accepted Answer

False. Nelson Mandela's autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom' was published in 1994 after his release from prison.

Question 4

True or false: Nelson Mandela was a trained boxer during his time as a law student.

Accepted Answer

True. Mandela took up boxing in the 1940s for fitness and discipline, though he never fought professionally.

Question 5

True or false: Mandela's prison number was 46664, which later became the name of his HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

Accepted Answer

True. 46664 was his prisoner number, and he used it as the name for his global AIDS charity concert series.

Question 6

True or false: Mandela studied law at Oxford University on a full scholarship.

Accepted Answer

False. He studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, not Oxford, and did not complete his degree there.

Question 7

True or false: Mandela was offered early release from prison in exchange for renouncing violence.

Accepted Answer

True. He was offered release in 1985 if he condemned armed struggle; he refused, leading to more years in prison.

Question 8

True or false: Nelson Mandela appeared as a schoolteacher in the 1992 film Malcolm X.

Accepted Answer

True. Nelson Mandela had a cameo as a teacher in Spike Lee's 1992 film Malcolm X, speaking a line about education.

Question 9

True or false: Nelson Mandela's birth name Rolihlahla means 'troublemaker' in the Xhosa language.

Accepted Answer

True. Nelson Mandela's given name was Rolihlahla, which colloquially translates to 'troublemaker' in Xhosa.

Question 10

True or false: Nelson Mandela studied law at the University of Oxford in the 1940s.

Accepted Answer

False. Nelson Mandela studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand, not Oxford.

Question 11

True or false: Nelson Mandela was an amateur boxer during his time in Johannesburg.

Accepted Answer

True. Nelson Mandela took up amateur boxing while studying and working in Johannesburg in the 1940s and 1950s.

Question 12

True or false: Nelson Mandela was a trained medical doctor before becoming a politician.

Accepted Answer

False. Nelson Mandela studied law and became a lawyer, not a medical doctor.

Question 13

True or false: Nelson Mandela was listed on the United States terrorist watch list until 2008.

Accepted Answer

True. Nelson Mandela and other ANC members were on a US terrorist watch list until 2008, when he was removed after a congressional resolution.

Question 14

True or false: Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison.

Accepted Answer

True. He was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990, mostly on Robben Island, for his anti-apartheid activities.

Question 15

True or false: Mandela once worked as a night watchman while in disguise on Robben Island.

Accepted Answer

False. Mandela was a prisoner on Robben Island, not a guard or employee; he performed hard labor like quarry work.

Question 16

True or false: Mandela's favorite dish was umngqusho, a traditional Xhosa meal of samp and beans.

Accepted Answer

True. He often spoke fondly of this simple, hearty dish from his childhood in the Eastern Cape.

Nelson Mandela Trivia Questions