The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk for their contribution for the peaceful termination of apartheid and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa. Despite their different points of view, Mandela and de Klerk had reached an agreement for a transition to a new political order based on the tenet of one man-one vote. Through their common vision of reconciliation and not by looking back at the past, they had shown personal integrity and great political courage. Their constructive strategy of peace and reconciliation also pointed the way to the peaceful resolution of conflicts elsewhere in the world.

The previous Nobel Laureates Albert Luthuli and Desmond Tutu made important contributions towards racial equality in South Africa.  Mandela and de Klerk took the process a major step further.  The Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 was jointly awarded to these two South African leaders in recognition of their efforts and as a pledge of support for the forces of good, in the hope that the advance towards equality and democracy would reach its goal in the very near future.  This became a reality in 1994 with the formation of a new democratic South Africa.

When Nelson Mandela bade farewell to Parliament five years after he was sworn in as South Africa's first democratically elected President, he urged South Africans never to forget their past, but to use it as a tool in overcoming the challenges still facing the country.  FW de Klerk, who retired from politics in 1997, praised all South Africans for their role in bringing about change in the country, asking them to join hands for further socio-economic transformation, saying the challenges were still huge.

This Protea coin series celebrates the Nobel Laureates of South Africa and the role they played in successfully transforming South Africa into a vibrant, democratic nation.

ARTIST  
Natanya van Niekerk – Assistant General Manager : Numismatics and Chief Artist at the South African Mint has designed the 2007 Protea series.

ENGRAVERS  
The obverse design for the three coins was engraved by the South African Mint’s former chief die-engraver, AL Sutherland.  N van Niekerk (R25), MJ Scheepers (R5 Mandela, R5 de Klerk & R1 Mandela) and AM Minnie (R1 de Klerk) engraved the reverse for the 2007 Protea coins.

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