Barry Soper: How I met Nelson Mandela

The writer gets Nelson Mandela's autograph on the first day of his Presidency after the Jim Bolger meeting in 1994.

COMMENT:

There are many privileges you get by being a political journalist in a country the size of New Zealand and that stems from the fact that your leaders get the same access to the world stage as any other.

That gave rise to the biggest privilege that I've had in my time in this business - meeting Nelson Mandela for the first time at the Commonwealth leaders summit in Harare in 1991.

It was by sheer coincidence and occurred as a cocktail function between leaders and the media was drawing to a close and our then Prime Minister Jim Bolger was making his way to the exit door, stopping on the way to talk to various attendees.

There was something of a kerfuffle at the doorway and in came a flustered looking man who asked me whether I was with a Prime Minister.

I told him I was there with the New Zealand leader and he blurted out that he wanted me to introduce the man who walked through the door after him.

It was Mandela, who would have turned 100 this week, and who'd been released from a 27-year stretch in prison the year before.

The introduction was made and immediately a firm hand slapped by shoulder, shoving me out of the way.

It was Australia's Prime Minister Bob Hawke who wanted a piece of the action.

Too late, Bolger had invited Mandela, who was still three years from becoming South Africa's President, to breakfast the following morning.

The journalists travelling with him got to interview this engaging, humble man who bore no malice to anyone.

Mandela's inauguration in May 1994 televised to a billion viewers around the globe was also a privilege to attend.

The mood of the of the invited guests in Pretoria was ecstatic, people of all ethnic backgrounds thought this was finally the dawning of a new, inclusive South Africa.

The following day Bolger was invited to meet with Mandela, along with four other leaders.

We waited for his previous meeting to finish, out walked Cuba's Fidel Castro and Bolger was invited in.

Afterwards we again got to interview, this time the new President.

In 1995 this country had the privilege of hosting him at the Commonwealth summit in Auckland.

Months before it I'd written to Mandela's political movement, the African National Congress, asking if he'd consider addressing the Press Gallery's 125th anniversary dinner.

The punt paid off, he agreed and the privilege that a few of us had experienced was shared with my Parliamentary colleagues.

Sitting, talking to this legend about the hopes he held for his country for several hours over dinner was surreal.

Sitting at his state funeral in Pretoria 18 years later there was an outpouring of grief not just for the man, but for the parlous state that South Africa is now in.