Archbishop Desmond Tutu: His life in pictures

Desmond Tutu – the anti-apartheid Nobel peace prize-winning activist for racial justice and LGBT rights has died at the age of 90.

We look back on his remarkable life with some of his most striking images as the world mourns and people pay tribute.

An uncompromising foe of apartheid, Tutu worked tirelessly but non-violently for its downfall

1981: Bishop Tutu at Jan Smuts airport, returning from his trip to the UN

Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

1984: Tutu poses with his Nobel peace prize along with the chairman of the Nobel committee, Egil Aarvik, in Oslo

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

1985: Tutu speaks during the funerals of four young anti-apartheid activists who died in hand-grenade blasts, in Duduza township, near Johannesburg

Photograph: Gideon Mendel/AFP/Getty Images

1986: Tutu’s enthronement as Archbishop on 7 September 1986 at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town

Photograph: Trevor Samson/AFP/Getty Images

1990: Tutu (centre) and Winnie Mandela (in blue and gold) march in protest against the continued imprisonment of the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in Cape Town, South Africa.

Photograph: Susan Winters Cook/Getty Images

1993: (From left) Stanley Mogoba, Nelson Mandela, Gatsha Buthelezi and Desmond Tutu in Johannesburg

Photograph: Gallo Images/Rex/Shutterstock

1995: Queen Elizabeth II talking with Tutu as she and President Nelson Mandela leave St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, after attending a service to mark Human Rights Day

Photograph: Martin Keene/PA

2004: Tutu took to the stage during the London Celebrates A Decade Of South African Freedom celebrations in 2004. He told a cheering crowd: “We are free. We are free.”

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

2011: During the launch of his biography, Tutu: The Authorised Portrait, in 2011, the Archbishop danced at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town – the day before his 80th birthday

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

2013: Tutu was for decades a friend of Nelson Mandela, and became emotional while speaking at his funeral in 2013

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

2013: Barack Obama and Desmond Tutu meet in 2013 when Obama was still the US president

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

2019:Desmond Tutu meets Prince Harry, Meghan and baby Archie. During this trip Tutu gifted two framed pictures of Princess Diana- one for Prince Harry and the other for Prince William

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

2021: Leah Tutu dances next to her husband (right, seated) during a church service to celebrate his 90th birthday in Cape Town, 2021

Photograph: GETTY IMAGES

Archbishop Desmond Tutu 1931-2021

Desmond Tutu

South African priest

Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH GCStJ was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.

How did Desmond Tutu's actions make a difference?

How did Desmond Tutu’s actions make a difference?

Desmond Tutu is one of South Africa’s most well-known human rights activists, winning the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving and ending apartheid. … Tutu also supported the economic boycott of South Africa, while constantly encouraging reconciliation between various factions associated with apartheid

Who is Desmond Tutu's wife?

Who is Desmond Tutu’s wife?

Nomalizo Leah Tutu (married in 1955)

What did Desmond Tutu study?

After leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu: His life in pictures

Archbishop Desmond Tutu 1931-2021

Desmond Tutu

How did Desmond Tutu’s actions make a difference?

Who is Desmond Tutu’s wife?

What did Desmond Tutu study?

In Memorium

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