Desmond tutu

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Desmond Tutu (2004)
Signature of Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu , CH (born October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp , † December 26, 2021 in Cape Town ) was a South African Anglican clergyman and human rights activist . He was Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Church of the Province of South Africa from 1986 to 1996 . In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights activities. From 1995 he was chairman of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Life

Desmond Tutu was born in Klerksdorp. His father Zachariah Tutu ran a high school there and his mother Aletha Matlhare worked as a domestic servant . Desmond Tutu grew up with three sisters. He was baptized a Methodist . The family moved to Ventersdorp and joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church ; In 1943 they finally became Anglicans. Tutu experienced the earliest school stage at mission institutions. At the age of twelve he moved to Johannesburg with his family . He then studied at Bantu High School (later Madibane High ) in Western Township (Johannesburg) between 1945 and 1950 .

He always wanted to be a doctor, but his family could not afford this education and so he became a teacher like his father, who had received his training at University College Fort Hare . Tutu studied from 1951 to 1953 at Bantu Normal College in Pretoria , where he earned a teaching diploma and in 1954 completed a parallel course with a bachelor's degree. It was at this place that he met his future wife Leah Nomalizo Shenxane (Shinxani according to other sources).

On July 2, 1955, he married Leah Nomalizo Shenxane. Then Tutu worked from 1955 to 1958 as a teacher at Munsieville High School in Krugersdorp .

Desmond Tutu gave up the teaching profession because the South African government had enacted the Bantu Education Act that black children should receive a poorer education than white ones. In 1958 he began his ministry in the Anglican Church of South Africa and an education at St. Peter's Theological College in Rosettenville , a district of Johannesburg. He was inspired and encouraged by Trevor Huddleston , who was head of the college at the time. In 1960 Tutu received a licentiate in theology and worked as a deacon, and in 1961 he was ordained to the priesthood. During this time he worked in Benoni .

Desmond Tutu at the German Evangelical Church Congress 2007 in Cologne

Between 1962 and 1966, Tutu lived with his family in London , where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity Honors (1965) and a Master's degree (1966) in theology from King's College . He then returned to South Africa and from 1967 worked as a chaplain at University College Fort Hare and in the neighboring Federal Theological Seminary in Alice as one of six lecturers. During this time he began his dissertation. In 1968 Tutu wrote an article on migrant labor in South Africa which was published in the South African Outlook . Tutu remained at the Federal Theological Seminary until it was adopted by government agencies. In 1970 he lectured in theology at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in Roma .

He spent three more years as an assistant director at the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches in Bromley . In 1975 he returned to Johannesburg, where he became the first black African to become the Anglican Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral.

Desmond Tutu served as Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 until he returned to Johannesburg in 1978 to take on the role of Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches (SACC). In this position he traveled to Denmark in September 1979 , where he expressed his opposition to the importation of South African coal by this country, as this would make it too dependent on South Africa. This earned him a criticism from the Minister of Justice after his return. In May 1980, Tutu was one of 54 arrested persons arrested under the Riotous Assemblies Act for protesting the imprisonment of clergyman John Thorne of the Congregational Church . This had been involved in the school boycott of colored students . In 1984 Desmond Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against apartheid . On February 3, 1985 he became Bishop of Johannesburg and on September 7, 1986 Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cape Town . In 1996, Njongonkulu Ndungane became Tutu's successor Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa .

Tutu was a member of the Honorary Committee for International Coordination for the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). From 2003 to 2018 Tutu was an ambassador for the development aid organization Oxfam and played a key role in the Control Arms and Make Poverty History campaigns . He is also one of 350 ambassadors for the climate protection organization 350.org .

In 2007 Tutu founded the group The Elders with Nelson Mandela and other world-famous former officials , the aim of which is to help solve global problems. Tutu was the first chairman of the Elders and was made an honorary member after his tenure ended in 2013.

The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation is headquartered in New York, USA, and has a seat in Palo Alto , California. She has been running the Desmond Tutu Peace Center since 1998 . The aim of the non-profit organization is to “inspire young people to build a world of peace with themselves, with the people and the nations” in the sense of the Ubuntu .

The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation is based in Cape Town. Its goals include "promoting peacebuilding through conflict resolution and supporting reconciliation, as well as cultivating accountable, servant leadership ".

Desmond Tutu died on December 26, 2021 at the age of 90 in a care facility in Century City, Cape Town.

Tutu's role in the anti-apartheid movement

His decision to give up the teaching profession because of political guidelines made Tutu increasingly politically active himself. Since the early 1970s, he has been using his lectures to draw attention to the situation of the black population. When he became dean in 1975, he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Vorster , in which he described the situation in South Africa as a "powder keg that can explode at any time". This letter went unanswered and the situation got worse. As early as 1976, with the school and student uprising in Soweto , what Tutu had warned began: The fight became more violent. From then on he campaigned for an economic boycott of his country.

With his election as General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Tutu was able to continue his work against apartheid with the approval of almost all churches. The government tried to obstruct the work of the SACC and created the Eloff Commission. This commission, also named after its chairman, the judge FC Eloff, was supposed to investigate the financial management practice of the council of churches in order to find suitable allegations against it. Officially it was called the “Commission of Inquiry to Review All Aspects of the Council of Churches (SACC)” and was set up on November 18, 1981. Tutu largely defended himself in their hearings by listing relevant passages in the Bible that support his stance on apartheid - apartheid, on the other hand, is heresy . In its opinion of September 1, 1982 in relation to the Commission he made u. Al .: " Apartheid is just as vicious and reprehensible as the Nazis , and the government will suffer complete shipwreck when it arises on the side of evil, injustice and oppression. ... The government is not God ... "

He succeeded in directing the interest of the world population more and more to the domestic political situation in South Africa through his publications and trips abroad. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Tutu in 1984 also contributed to this. This meant that the state apparatus could no longer evade Tutu's personality. The charisma that emanated from the man, especially his unshakable belief in non-violent change, now cast a spell over more and more white South Africans. Tutu preached reconciliation between the two communities. He argued that if the black man is not free, the white man cannot be free, otherwise he would have to live in constant fear of the black man. Breaking this circle can only succeed if blacks are given the opportunity to live an equal life.

Desmond Tutu was increasingly becoming a symbolic figure of blacks and was accepted by the government as both a discussion partner and a negotiating partner. His goal of ending apartheid eventually became a reality. From 1995 Tutu was chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, which worked on the principles of Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi .

In 1994, Tutu coined the term "rainbow nation" for the South African people. The term gained great popularity as a catchphrase .

Tutu as a critic of the ANC

In the years since about 2008, Tutu has increasingly become a critic of the African National Congress . In 2008 he publicly called on then Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to resign from office, accused him of human rights crimes and expressed disappointment with the South African ANC leadership's political tactics on this issue. In 2011 he accused the ANC leadership of "subservience" to the People's Republic of China after the Dalai Lama , who was invited on Tutu's 80th birthday, was only granted a visa to enter South Africa with a delay. On May 10, 2013, Tutu publicly announced that he would no longer vote for the ANC in the next election. He justified this by saying that the ANC had been very good at fighting for freedom from oppression. But it is not easy to transform a group of freedom fighters into a political party. The main problems facing South Africa today are corruption, a lack of responsibility and weaknesses in the South African constitution. On the same occasion he also called on the South Africans to think about what should happen after the death of Nelson Mandela , who was 94 years old at the time and which would inevitably occur at some point.

Tutu in conversation with the Dalai Lama (2004)

When the Dalai Lama was again refused entry to South Africa on October 2, 2014 at the instigation of President Jacob Zuma , where he wanted to take part in a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize winners from all over the world, Tutu sharply criticized the South African government: “I am ashamed, that I have to call this bunch of droolers my government ” (I am ashamed to call this lickspittle bunch my government) . This is the third time in five years that the Dalai Lama has been refused entry to South Africa and he has warned her that "just as we had prayed for the overthrow of the apartheid regime, we are now for the replacement of a government, who behaved so spineless, would pray " (I warned them then that just as we had prayed for the downfall of the apartheid government so we would pray for the demise of a government that could be so spineless) .

Tutu's stance on the Palestinian question and the Second Iraq War

Desmond Tutu campaigned for the rights of the Palestinians. In a 2002 Guardian commentary , he called Israel's policy “apartheid”: “I was deeply shocked by my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what had happened to us blacks in South Africa. I saw the humiliation of the Palestinians at the checkpoints and roadblocks, who suffered as we did when young white police officers deprived us of our freedom of movement. ”He supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign .

In an article in the British weekly The Observer of 2 September 2012, he called the former US President George W. Bush and Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair before the International Criminal Court in The Hague because of his opinion, illegal war of aggression on Iraq the To make process. He sharply criticized the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union.

Tutu's role in recognizing homosexual people in Africa

Desmond Tutu was considered a supporter of gay rights . His church in South Africa supported the opening of weddings for homosexual couples in South Africa, which the ANC party, which is closely related to his church, advocated in parliament.

In a press release in Nairobi , Kenya , in 2007 Tutu admonished the Anglican church leaders from Africa about the internal church recognition of homosexual couples.

In 2013 he declared at a UN event , the “UN Free and Equal Campaign” in Cape Town , that he rejected “religious justifications for homophobic prejudice ”. He would “not worship a god who is homophobic”, but “would rather go to hell than worship a homophobic god”. He sees the fight against homophobia as just as important as the fight against apartheid .

In May 2016, Tutu's daughter Mpho married Marceline van Furth from the Netherlands. Tutu received permission from the Anglican Church to offer a "fatherly blessing" at the wedding ceremony.

family

The marriage to Leah Nomalizo Shenxane has four children: Trevor Thamsanqa, Theresa Thandeka, Naomi Nontombi (* 1960) and Mpho Andrea (* 1963 in London). His wife was born in South Africa in 1933. She became a teacher. From 1976 to 1984 she was head of the Domestic Workers and Employers Project at the South African Institute of Race Relations .

Awards

Dedications

Works (selection)

  • Reconciliation is indivisible. Interpretations of Biblical Texts on Black Theology. Jugenddienst-Verlag, Wuppertal 1977, ISBN 3-7795-7700-3 .
  • Crying in the wilderness. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1982, ISBN 0-8028-0270-2 .
  • Hope and suffering: sermons and speeches. Skotaville, Johannesburg 1983, ISBN 0-620-06776-4 .
  • “God bless Africa.” Texts and sermons by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1984, ISBN 3-499-15626-1 .
  • The words of Desmond Tutu. Newmarket, New York City 1989, ISBN 1-55704-719-7 .
  • The rainbow people of God: the making of a peaceful revolution. Doubleday, New York City 1994, ISBN 0-385-47546-2 .
  • Worshiping church in Africa. Duke University Press, Durham 1995, no ISBN
  • The essential Desmond tutu. David Phillips Publishers, Capetown 1997, ISBN 0-86486-346-2 .
  • No future without forgiveness. Doubleday, New York City 1999, ISBN 0-385-49689-3 .
    • German as: No future without reconciliation. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-491-72456-2 .
  • An African prayerbook. Doubleday, New York City 2000, ISBN 0-385-47730-9 .
    • German as: My African prayers. Hugendubel, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2005, ISBN 3-7205-2641-0 .
  • God has a dream: a vision of hope for our time. Doubleday, New York City 2004, ISBN 0-385-47784-8 .
    • German as: God has a dream. New hope for our time. (Diederich's yellow series) Hugendubel, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7205-2528-7 .
  • Believe. Knesebeck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-89660-521-4 .
  • Reconciliation. Be true and get free. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2008, ISBN 978-3-451-05954-4 .
  • Made for goodness - and why this makes all the difference. With Mpho Tutu. Harper, New York City 2010, ISBN 978-0-06-170659-2 .
  • God's children. My most beautiful Bible stories. Pattloch, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-629-01494-8 .
  • God is not a Christian. Speaking truth in times of crisis. Rider, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-84604-264-5 .
    • German as: God is not a Christian. My commitment to tolerance and justice. Patmos, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-8436-0201-3 .
  • The Book of forgiving: the four-fold path of healing for ourselves and our world. With Mpho Tutu. William Collins, London 2014, ISBN 978-0-00-751288-1 .
    • German as: The book of forgiveness. Four steps to more humanity. Allegria, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-7934-2249-5 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Desmond Tutu  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Desmond Tutu  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b South African History Online : Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu . at www.sahistory.org.za , accessed December 26, 2021.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Shelag Gastrow: Who's Who in South African politics. Ravan Press, Johannesburg 1986, pp. 307-309.
  3. ↑ a b c d Desmond Tutu Family & Personal Life ( Memento from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) formerly on www.desmondtutu.org (English)
  4. ↑ Entry: Desmond Tutu on aaregistry.org
  5. ↑ Desmond Tutu on dartmouth.edu
  6. ↑ Desmond Mpilo Tutu on westerncape.gov.za
  7. ↑ Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Mpilo
  8. ↑ Stephen Gish: Desmond Tutu: A Biography . Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-31332860-9 .
  9. ↑ Fabian Ulrich: Oxfam struggles to limit the damage. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 17, 2018, p. 5.
  10. ↑ The 350 Climate Ambassadors ( Memento of December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) from 350.org
  11. ↑ Homepage of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation (to inspire young people to build a world of peace within themselves, peace between people, and peace among nations) . accessed on April 6, 2018
  12. ^ Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation . at www.tutulegacy.com , accessed December 26, 2021.
  13. ↑ Homepage of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation (English), accessed on September 23, 2016. (to promote peace building through conflict resolution and to foster reconciliation. To cultivate accountable servant leadership.)
  14. ↑ Desmond Tutu: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate died at the age of 90 . In: The mirror . December 26, 2021, ISSN  2195-1349 ( spiegel.de [accessed December 26, 2021]).
  15. ↑ Jason Burke: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, giant in fight against apartheid South Africa, dies at 90 . Announcement in The Guardian of December 26, 2021 at www.theguardian.com (English)
  16. ↑ John Allen: Rabble-rouser for peace: the authoritative biography of Desmond Tutu. Simon & Schuster, New York City 2006, ISBN 9780743298667 . Excerpts from books.google.de
  17. ↑ Evangelical Mission in the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin West eV (EMW): Confession and Resistance. Churches of South Africa in conflict with the state . Missionshilfe Verlag, Hamburg 1983, pp. 7–8, ISBN 3-921620-25-2 .
  18. ↑ Desmond Tutu: The Divine Goal . (Tutu's statement before the Eloff Commission) In: Evangelical Missionary Work in the Area of ​​the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin West eV (EMW): Confession and Resistance. Churches of South Africa in conflict with the state. Documents . Missionshilfe Verlag, Hamburg 1983, p. 21, ISBN 3-921620-25-2 .
  19. ↑ Lisa Nevitt: ... Rainbow Nation? "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country" - Nelson Mandela . at www.capetownmagazine.com (English).
  20. ↑ Go Mugabe or face arrest - Tutu. BBC News, December 5, 2008, accessed May 10, 2013 .
  21. ↑ Tutu accuses S Africa over Mugabe. BBC News, December 24, 2008, accessed May 10, 2013 .
  22. ^ A b South Africa's Desmond Tutu: "I will not vote for ANC". BBC News, accessed May 10, 2013 .
  23. ↑ David Smith: Desmond Tutu: why I won't vote ANC . Announcement from April 25, 2014 on www.theguardian.com (English).
  24. ↑ Tutu breaks silence on Dalai Lama visa row. October 2, 2014, accessed October 3, 2014 .
  25. ^ Apartheid in the Holy Land. In: The Guardian. April 29, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2014 .
  26. ↑ Divesting from Injustice. Huffington Post , April 13, 2009, accessed June 18, 2014 .
  27. ↑ Tutu calls for a trial against Bush and Blair. In: Spiegel-Online , September 4, 2012.
  28. ↑ advocate: Desmond Tutu likens antigay discrimination to apartheid ( Memento of January 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). formerly on www.advocate.com (English).
  29. ↑ Tutu defends homosexuals . News from January 22nd, 2007 in Queer - the gay online magazine at www.queer.de (German).
  30. ↑ Al Jazeera Media Network: Tutu says he cannot worship 'homophobic' God . Announcement from July 26, 2013 in Al Jazeera on www.aljazeera.com (English).
  31. ↑ Harriet Sherwood: Desmond Tutu's daughter leaves clergy after marrying female partner. In: theguardian.com. May 24, 2016, accessed May 24, 2016 .
  32. ↑ We Are Family Foundation: Archbishop Desmond Tutu & Leah Tutu . at www.wearefamilyfoundation.org (English).
  33. ↑ Press office of the Ruhr University Bochum Desmond Tutu opens South African-German specialist center . News from April 3, 2009 at www.pm.rub.de (English).
  34. ^ University of Cambridge : Selected Honorands . at www.cam.ac.uk (English).
  35. ↑ Winner of the Interfaith Award ( Memento from August 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  36. ↑ Anonymous: Desmond Tutu is an honorary doctor of the University of Vienna . Message from ORF dated June 12, 2009, accessed on June 12, 2009.
  37. ↑ Denis Staunton: Obama names Robinson for top civilian honor . Reported July 31, 2009 in The Irish Times .
  38. ↑ Sabrina Wendling: With courage and persistence against racial segregation . Report of the Free University of Berlin from July 18, 2009 at www.fu-berlin.de (English).
  39. ↑ Hoge Koninklijke onderscheiding voor bisschop Tutu. De Stentor , September 22, 2012, accessed September 22, 2012 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Tutu, Desmond
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tutu, Desmond Mpilo (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African Bishop and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
BIRTH DATE October 7, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Klerksdorp , South Africa
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Cape Town , South Africa