Desomond Tutu Biography

Desmond Tutu was born on October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal in South Africa. He began his career as a schoolteacher in 1955 and went on to study at St. Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg. In 1961, he was ordained an Anglican priest. He then continued his studies in England, obtaining an MA from King’s College London before returning to South Africa.

The 1970s was a decade in which Tutu saw his star rise. He was successively named the associate director for the World Council of Churches, dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg (first black man to hold the position), bishop of Lesotho, and the general secretary of the South African Council of Churches. It was during this period Tutu began his strident support for the rights of black South Africans in a country where institutionalized racial segregation, or apartheid, was the law.

In the following decade, Tutu redoubled his commitment to end apartheid through nonviolent means. He traveled extensively, seeking international support. He organized peaceful marches, proposed strikes, and even supported an economic boycott of his own country. He understood international disinvestment would potentially lead to additional short-term suffering, but the approach proved effective in the long run. Disinvestment campaigns continue to be a cornerstone of many social justice movements to this day. 

He organized peaceful marches, proposed strikes, and even supported an economic boycott of his own country.

In 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, placing additional pressure on South African President P.W. Botha to address the growing unrest over the apartheid issue. Still, change did not come. In September of that year, uprisings broke out and spread across the country. Within a year, 600 people had died in the violence. Amidst this backdrop, Tutu was installed as Johannesburg’s first black Anglican bishop in 1985. Then, in the following year, he became the first black man elected archbishop of Cape Town, placing him as the primate (presiding bishop) of South Africa’s 1.6 million-member Anglican church.

In 1990, President F.W. de Klerk released Nelson Mandela from prison. Mandela and Tutu coordinated efforts to dissolve apartheid, including mediating differences among black factions. In 1994, South Africa held its first national election in which all races were allowed to vote. Mandela was elected and soon began the process of forming a government of national unity.

After the fall of apartheid, Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was instrumental in healing the reeling nation’s social divides. This reconciliatory approach, with its attempt at restorative justice rather than the historically utilized retributive justice following such human-rights violations, has served as a model for other countries confronting similar situations.
​
Tutu retired from public life in 2010 but continued to campaign to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. 

Tutu died of cancer on December 26, 2021. At the funeral and upon his request, his body lay in the cheapest available plain pine coffin.