It is not often that you get a figure that transcends race, creed, national borders, political school of thought and above all else, people’s hearts and minds.

Late on Thursday night, the world lost an icon, a beacon of peace and hope. The world lost Nelson “Madiba” Mandela. Freedom fighter, revolutionary, political prisoner, peacemaker, President,  global ambassador, father, grandfather and one of the most decent, honest and determined human beings the world has seen.

He was loved by all for his manner and his struggles. As he said in his own words, "I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."

Mandela was jailed in 1964 for planning to sabotage the apartheid regime. He remained there until 1990, when he was released. He said that when he was released, he decided that he would leave his bitterness and hatred there, because if he did not, he would always remain a prisoner.

Mandela used simple, yet very effective measures to unite South Africa. He attended the rugby World Cup final in a Sprinboks vest, a symbol once reviled by blacks. He chose to wore it to show that the sport, which was always dominated by whites, was for everyone, blacks included. In doing so, the predominantly white crowd was won over and began to chant his name. This was the moment that South Africa began to heal. He led the transition to democracy, and brought a nation and a people together.

But he was much more than that. He was known around the world. Everyone knew who he was and what he had done and very quickly he became a UN figure that could speak about anything to anyone and anywhere. It is hard to resist the temptation to compare him to others, but when you really think about it, it is hard to do that too because Madiba was his own man, incomparable to anyone else.

While we will remember him for his fierce determination to seek equality for black Africans, we will also remember him as a people person, with a killer smile, a great sense of wit and a contagious sense of humour. He gave hope not only to his people, but to the whole world. People saw in him that if you focus on an ideal, a dream, it is achievable. Indeed, Mandela said that everything seems impossible, until it is done. There is too much that can be said about Nelson Mandela to fit in this leading article. Indeed, even a book would not be enough. The man reborn at 71, after decades being held as a political prisoner. His face had been hidden from the world, yet everyone knew his name. That forgotten face soon became to be one of the most recognizable in the world. Our world is a poorer place in his passing. Farewell Madiba, the world will miss you.