Luminary: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Luminary: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

A man of immense moral authority, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been one of the leading figures in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He was chosen by President Mandela to chair South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and investigate the crimes committed by all sides during the apartheid regime.

Desmond Tutu became the first black Anglican Dean of Johannesburg in 1975. Under his vigorous leadership, the church in South Africa became immersed in the political struggle. Tutu constantly told the government of the time that its racist approach defied the will of God and for that reason could not succeed. Tutu has strived to remain outside party politics and always used the Bible as his text, saying God decreed all Africans were equal.

In 1985, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of his quest for a non-violent end to apartheid.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's two-year investigation into the evils of the apartheid era has been painful, Tutu has said that he has been "appalled at the evil we have uncovered". But he said it had been a "privilege" to be part of the process of "trying to heal a traumatised and wounded people".

Although the cloak of secrecy has been lifted, the revelations have stoked anger in South Africa and Archbishop Tutu has admitted that reconciliation will not be easy. The process has also taken its toll on the 64-year-old Tutu who suffered prostate cancer last year.

"Listening to all the pain and anguish, you take it into yourself in many ways ... maybe one day you will sit down when you think of all those things and you will cry."

Books by Archbishop Desmond Tutu include God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time and No Future Without Forgiveness.