Vice President Joe Biden, right, and wife Jill Biden, pay their respects to former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the South African embassy in Washington, Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, after signing a condolence book inside. While gazing at a statue of Mandela, Biden said that the former president was, "the most remarkable man I met in my whole career." President Obama is en route to South Africa to attend a Tuesday memorial service for Nelson Mandela. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
December 09, 2013 - 9:29 PM
CENTURION, South Africa - President Barack Obama has arrived in South Africa to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, the iconic leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner who died Thursday at age 95.
Obama will deliver a 20-minute speech during Tuesday's service in Johannesburg, where tens of thousands of South Africans and dozens of foreign dignitaries are expected to pack a sports stadium. Obama is expected to speak of Mandela's influence on South Africa and on his own life, while also reflecting on the complexity of Mandela's rise from anti-apartheid fighter and prisoner to president and global icon.
Obama, former President George W. Bush and their wives arrived Tuesday morning at a military base near Johannesburg after a 16-hour trip from Washington.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013