Historical Organization
African National Congress
African National Congress
Also known as: ANC
Details
Organization Timeline
The All-African Convention opens in Bloemfontein
📅 15 December 1935Hundreds of delegates from political, religious and professional bodies gathered to coordinate opposition to the Hertzog government's bills attacking African land and voting rights.
The ANC adopts African Claims
📅 16 December 1943The document applied the Atlantic Charter's language of freedom to South Africa and demanded full citizenship, equal rights, land, education and social welfare for Africans.
The Doctors' Pact unites African and Indian congresses
📅 9 March 1947Alfred Xuma, Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker signed a declaration of cooperation, committing their organizations to joint struggle for full democratic rights.
The ANC adopts the Programme of Action
📅 17 December 1949The programme called for boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience and non-cooperation. It marked a shift from petitions toward mass mobilization against white minority rule.
Police kill protesters during the May Day strike
📅 1 May 1950The ANC, Communist Party and trade unions called workers to stay home for political rights and against repression. Police killed at least eighteen people in clashes on the Witwatersrand.
The first national Freedom Day protest takes place
📅 26 June 1950The ANC and allied organizations organized a stay-at-home and day of mourning following the May Day killings and in protest against apartheid laws.
Mass meetings protest the Van Riebeeck tercentenary
📅 6 April 1952While the state celebrated three centuries of white settlement, the ANC and SAIC held mass meetings and called for defiance of six discriminatory laws.
Volunteers pledge themselves to the Defiance Campaign
📅 22 June 1952Thousands attended the Day of the Volunteers shortly before civil disobedience began. Participants committed themselves to disciplined, nonviolent defiance of apartheid laws.
The Defiance Campaign begins
📅 26 June 1952Multiracial groups deliberately violated curfews, pass laws and segregation regulations. More than 8,000 volunteers were arrested during the country's largest civil-disobedience campaign to that date.
Police arrest leaders of the Defiance Campaign
📅 30 July 1952Authorities arrested campaign leaders under the Suppression of Communism Act in an attempt to disrupt the expanding civil-disobedience movement.
Defiance Campaign leaders are convicted
📅 2 December 1952Twenty campaign leaders were convicted under the Suppression of Communism Act and received suspended prison sentences. Repression intensified but the campaign greatly expanded ANC membership.
Police begin the forced removal of Sophiatown
📅 9 February 1955Armed police supervised the removal of families from the multiracial Johannesburg neighbourhood to racially designated areas. Homes were demolished under the Group Areas Act.
The Congress of the People opens at Kliptown
📅 25 June 1955Nearly 3,000 delegates and observers gathered to debate demands collected from communities across South Africa for a democratic and nonracial future.
A national stay-at-home protests the Sharpeville Massacre
📅 28 March 1960The ANC called a national strike and day of mourning. Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela publicly burned their passbooks as communities protested police killings and pass laws.
The government bans the ANC and PAC
📅 8 April 1960The African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress were outlawed. Their members were forced underground or into exile, reshaping the liberation struggle.
Oliver Tambo reaches Francistown on his journey into exile
📅 12 April 1960Acting on ANC instructions, Tambo left South Africa to build international support and an external mission after the state banned the organization.
A national stay-at-home begins
📅 29 May 1961The ANC-organized action opposed the establishment of a white republic without democratic participation by the Black majority. Large numbers of workers stayed home despite intimidation.
The Republic is proclaimed amid liberation protests
📅 31 May 1961South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. A nationwide stay-at-home challenged a constitutional change made without consent of the Black majority.
Umkhonto we Sizwe begins its sabotage campaign
📅 16 December 1961After peaceful political activity was outlawed and repressed, MK announced itself through attacks on state installations. Its early strategy sought to avoid loss of life.
Albert Luthuli rejects the Bantustan policy
📅 1 February 1962In his statement 'We don't want crumbs,' Luthuli rejected the government's homeland policy and demanded equal citizenship rather than fragmented ethnic administrations.
Nelson Mandela is arrested near Howick
📅 5 August 1962Police captured Mandela after seventeen months underground. He had organized resistance and travelled abroad to seek political and military support.
Nelson Mandela is sentenced to five years in prison
📅 7 November 1962Mandela was punished for inciting the 1961 stay-at-home and leaving South Africa without a passport. He used the trial to challenge the legitimacy of white minority rule.
Walter Sisulu broadcasts on underground ANC radio
📅 26 June 1963Sisulu spoke through a clandestine station after the ANC's banning, demonstrating that the organization continued communicating and organizing underground.
Police raid Liliesleaf Farm
📅 11 July 1963Police arrested much of the underground leadership at Rivonia and seized documents relating to MK strategy. The raid led directly to the Rivonia Trial.
Looksmart Ngudle dies in detention
📅 5 September 1963Ngudle died after being held by the Security Branch. The state claimed suicide; his death became an early symbol of abuse and secrecy in political detention.
The Rivonia accused first appear in court
📅 9 October 1963Eleven defendants were charged with sabotage and conspiracy following the Liliesleaf raid. The political trial threatened the accused with the death penalty.
Nelson Mandela delivers the 'I am prepared to die' statement
📅 20 April 1964Speaking from the dock, Mandela described the struggle against white and Black domination and defended the goal of a democratic and free society.
Rivonia defendants receive life sentences
📅 12 June 1964Eight defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment rather than death. Their removal weakened internal structures but made the trial a worldwide symbol of resistance.
Albert Luthuli dies
📅 21 July 1967The banned ANC president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate died after being struck by a train near his home. Oliver Tambo became acting president of the ANC.
Oliver Tambo calls for stronger international action against apartheid
📅 18 June 1968Addressing the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid in Stockholm, Tambo urged coordinated pressure and support for the liberation struggle.
The ANC and PAC receive observer status at the UN
📅 26 September 1974The General Assembly's Political Committee recognized the liberation movements as representatives in the struggle, strengthening their international legitimacy.
Solomon Mahlangu is executed
📅 6 April 1979The apartheid state hanged the young MK combatant despite a major international campaign for clemency. His final message became a rallying cry for resistance.
The ANC declares the Year of the Charter
📅 8 January 1980The ANC used the Freedom Charter's twenty-fifth anniversary to promote a democratic alternative to apartheid and strengthen internal and international mobilization.
South African forces raid Matola
📅 30 January 1981Commandos attacked homes used by ANC members near Maputo, killing activists and Mozambican civilians. The cross-border raid showed the regional reach of apartheid repression.
Nationwide protests reject Republic Day celebrations
📅 31 May 1981Boycotts and demonstrations marked twenty years of the republic by challenging a state founded on the exclusion of the Black majority.
Nelson Mandela is transferred to Pollsmoor Prison
📅 31 March 1982Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and Andrew Mlangeni were moved from Robben Island, partly as the state began considering political contacts.
Ruth First is assassinated
📅 17 August 1982A parcel bomb sent by apartheid security agents killed the scholar and activist at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo.
South African commandos carry out the Maseru raid
📅 9 December 1982The attack on houses in Lesotho killed ANC members and Basotho civilians, provoking international condemnation of apartheid's cross-border warfare.
Zindzi Mandela rejects conditional freedom for her father
📅 10 February 1985At a Soweto rally she read Nelson Mandela's refusal to accept release in exchange for renouncing resistance while the government continued violence against the people.
South African forces raid Gaborone
📅 14 June 1985A cross-border attack killed ANC members, South African refugees and Botswana citizens, violating Botswana's sovereignty.
Govan Mbeki is released from prison
📅 5 November 1987After twenty-three years in prison, the Rivonia veteran became the first of the senior ANC political prisoners to be released.
Nelson Mandela is moved to Victor Verster Prison
📅 7 December 1988The transfer placed Mandela in a house on prison grounds and facilitated increasingly direct talks with government representatives.
Seven senior political prisoners are released
📅 15 October 1989Walter Sisulu and six other veteran leaders left prison, signalling that the government was preparing for negotiations with the liberation movement.
A mass rally welcomes the released leaders
📅 29 October 1989Tens of thousands gathered at Soccer City to hear Walter Sisulu and other veterans publicly reaffirm the liberation movement's programme.
The government unbans liberation organizations
📅 2 February 1990De Klerk announced the unbanning of the ANC, PAC and SACP, the release of political prisoners and the opening of a negotiated transition.
De Klerk announces Mandela's unconditional release
📅 10 February 1990The president confirmed that Mandela would leave prison the following day without renouncing the liberation struggle.
Nelson Mandela is released
📅 11 February 1990Mandela walked free from Victor Verster Prison after twenty-seven years and addressed a mass rally in Cape Town, affirming democratic struggle and negotiation.
The ANC and government adopt the Groote Schuur Minute
📅 2 May 1990Their first formal talks committed both sides to address political prisoners, exiles and security laws obstructing negotiations.
The ANC and government sign the Pretoria Minute
📅 6 August 1990The government agreed to address remaining obstacles to negotiation, while the ANC announced suspension of armed actions to advance a political settlement.
Troops enter townships amid ANC-IFP violence
📅 15 August 1990The state deployed troops southeast of Johannesburg as conflict between ANC and IFP supporters intensified during the uncertain transition.
Mandela and De Klerk hold emergency talks on violence
📅 16 August 1990The leaders met as attacks spread to Soweto after armed hostel residents assaulted train passengers, threatening the negotiation process.
ANC and COSATU allege security-force orchestration of violence
📅 17 August 1990The organizations cited forged pamphlets and other evidence suggesting elements of the security forces were aggravating township conflict.
Democratic organizations meet De Klerk about political violence
📅 11 September 1990ANC, UDF and COSATU representatives demanded government action as township killings threatened peaceful change.
The ANC and IFP hold high-level peace talks
📅 20 September 1990Leaders met in Durban and issued a joint statement seeking ways to end violence in Natal and the Reef townships.
The government permits thousands of exiles to return
📅 8 October 1990After a Mandela-De Klerk meeting, the government announced that about 20,000 exiles could come home, reversing a major consequence of repression.
The government publishes political-prisoner release guidelines
📅 1 November 1990Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee announced procedures, but the government and ANC disputed how many prisoners qualified.
Mass marches demand release of political prisoners
📅 6 December 1990ANC mobilizations in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein protested delays in freeing people jailed for resistance to apartheid.
Oliver Tambo returns after thirty years in exile
📅 13 December 1990The ANC president came home after leading the external mission through decades of banning, armed struggle and international mobilization.
The ANC opens its first consultative conference inside South Africa in thirty years
📅 14 December 1990Delegates demanded removal of obstacles to negotiation, retained sanctions pressure and called 1991 a year of mass action.
The ANC demands removal of police implicated in violence
📅 28 January 1991The movement gave De Klerk a list of officers it believed had participated in township attacks, making state accountability central to negotiations.
Mandela and Buthelezi address an ANC-IFP peace summit
📅 29 January 1991The Durban summit called for political tolerance and effective peacekeeping after severe conflict between supporters of the two movements.
The government and ANC sign the D. F. Malan Accord
📅 12 February 1991The accord affirmed peaceful protest and specified steps for suspending armed action while negotiations advanced.
Bheki Mlangeni is killed by a parcel bomb
📅 16 February 1991The human-rights lawyer died when he opened a disguised Walkman bomb intended for former police captain Dirk Coetzee.
The ANC and PAC begin a joint conference in Harare
📅 15 April 1991The two liberation movements discussed cooperation under mediation by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
De Klerk offers constitutional and security-law concessions
📅 2 May 1991Facing an ANC ultimatum, the president proposed including Black opposition figures in government and amending repressive laws.
The ANC opens its first national conference inside South Africa since 1959
📅 2 July 1991Delegates rebuilt the legal mass organization and prepared it for negotiations and electoral politics.
Nelson Mandela is elected ANC president
📅 5 July 1991Mandela succeeded Oliver Tambo, while Walter Sisulu became deputy president and Cyril Ramaphosa secretary-general.
The ANC demands action over Inkathagate
📅 22 July 1991After revelations of secret state funding for Inkatha, the ANC called for ministers to resign and covert counter-insurgency structures to be dismantled.
MK holds its first conference inside South Africa
📅 9 August 1991Delegates debated the armed movement's role in a negotiated transition and called for a formal ceasefire.
The National Peace Accord is signed
📅 14 September 1991Parties, unions, religious bodies and civic organizations agreed to codes of conduct and monitoring mechanisms intended to reduce political violence.
The Patriotic Front Conference opens
📅 26 October 1991Dozens of anti-apartheid organizations called for an elected constituent assembly and an interim government to manage the transition.
The ANC launches its electoral campaign
📅 8 January 1992At its eightieth anniversary, the organization presented post-apartheid policies and began preparing supporters for democratic elections.
The ANC submits a constitutional blueprint to CODESA
📅 24 February 1992The proposal combined a short multiparty transition with an elected constitution-making process and a temporary coalition government.
The ANC begins an open-ended mass-action campaign
📅 16 June 1992Rallies and work stoppages demanded an interim government and an elected constituent assembly.
The ANC suspends negotiations after Boipatong
📅 21 June 1992Mandela withdrew from formal talks, demanding action against violence and evidence of state involvement.
A forty-eight-hour general strike begins
📅 3 August 1992The Tripartite Alliance used mass action to demand an interim government, majority rule and effective measures against political violence.
ANC and government delegations hold a bilateral summit
📅 26 August 1992The meeting sought a way out of the post-Boipatong deadlock and prepared the ground for renewed constitutional negotiations.
Ciskei forces carry out the Bisho Massacre
📅 7 September 1992Troops opened fire on an ANC-led march demanding free political activity, killing twenty-eight people and injuring many more.
Mandela and De Klerk agree to resume negotiations
📅 21 September 1992At a peace summit, the leaders reopened the path to constitutional talks after Boipatong and Bisho.
The ANC and government sign the Record of Understanding
📅 26 September 1992The agreement addressed political prisoners, hostels, dangerous weapons, an elected constituent assembly and mechanisms to overcome deadlock.
Forty-two political prisoners are released
📅 15 November 1992The releases implemented a key provision of the Record of Understanding and removed an obstacle to renewed talks.
ANC and government delegations report progress in bilateral talks
📅 26 January 1993The parties discussed security, a Government of National Unity, media reform and incorporation of the nominally independent homelands.
Mandela addresses the nation after Hani's assassination
📅 13 April 1993In a nationally televised appeal, Mandela called for unity, discipline and rejection of racial revenge.
A mass funeral is held for Chris Hani
📅 19 April 1993More than 150,000 mourners gathered at FNB Stadium, demonstrating Hani's popularity and public determination to complete the transition.
Oliver Tambo dies
📅 23 April 1993The long-serving ANC leader died after returning from exile, leaving a major legacy of international organization and movement unity.
Mandela and De Klerk receive the Nobel Peace Prize
📅 15 October 1993The joint award recognized their roles in negotiating an end to apartheid, while many South Africans continued debating responsibility and compromise.
The ANC adopts the Reconstruction and Development Programme
📅 21 January 1994The RDP connected political democracy with housing, services, jobs, land reform and social transformation.
The ANC publishes its election manifesto
📅 15 March 1994The manifesto presented the RDP and promised democratic government, equality and reconstruction after apartheid.
The Shell House shooting occurs
📅 28 March 1994ANC security guards fired during an IFP march near ANC headquarters, killing marchers amid intense pre-election violence and disputed accounts.
A state of emergency is declared in Natal
📅 31 March 1994De Klerk imposed emergency rule to curb escalating violence and protect the forthcoming election.
The IFP agrees to participate in the election
📅 19 April 1994A last-minute agreement brought Inkatha onto the ballot, reducing the danger that KwaZulu-Natal would be excluded from the democratic vote.
Mandela announces the ANC's election victory
📅 2 May 1994With about 62.6 percent of the vote, the ANC became the leading party in a Government of National Unity.