This is a list of dignitaries at the state memorial service of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. Mandela died on 5 December 2013. Many heads of state and government attended the state memorial service on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The memorial service was one of the largest gatherings of world leaders. It was also the largest funeral in the history of South Africa, and the African continent itself.
Two UN secretaries-general, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, two French presidents, four United States presidents, and four UK prime ministers attended the funeral service. In total, more than 500 VIP dignitaries from 19 supranational organizations and approximately 190 countries had arrived for this event. Some of the dignitaries later attended the burial ceremony on 15 December 2013 at Mandela's hometown, Qunu.
This memorial event was one of the largest in the world in terms of foreign leaders, along with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
Dignitaries
Heads of state and government
Country Title Dignitary President Jacob Zuma President Hamid Karzai Prime Minister Sali Berisha Prime Minister Antoni Marti Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer Prime Minister Tony Abbott Chancellor Werner Faymann Prime Minister Perry Christie President Abdul Hamid King Philippe Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo Prime Minister Dean Barrow President Yayi Boni President Ian Khama President Dilma Rousseff President Pierre Nkurunziza Prime Minister Stephen Harper President Idriss Déby President Sebastián Piñera President Ikililou Dhoinine President Joseph Kabila President Denis Sassou Nguesso President Ivo Josipović President Raúl Castro Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh President Eliud Williams President Danilo Medina Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn President Sauli Niinistö / President/Co-Prince François Hollande President Ali Bongo Ondimba President Yahya Jammeh President Joachim Gauck President John Dramani Mahama Prime Minister Antonis Samaras Prime Minister Keith Mitchell President Alpha Condé President Donald Ramotar President Michel Martelly Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe Prime Minister Angelo Sodano Prime Minister Viktor Orbán President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson President Pranab Mukherjee President Jalal Talabani President Michael D. HigginsHiggins, Gilmore in SA for Mandela service Irish Times, 2013-12-09. Prime Minister Enrico Letta President Alassane Ouattara Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour President Uhuru Kenyatta President Andris Bērziņš Prime Minister Najib Mikati Prime Minister Tom Thabane King King Letsie III President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Prime Minister Adrian Hasler Grand Duke Henri President Andry Rajoelina President Joyce Banda President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Prime Minister Joseph Muscat President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam President Enrique Peña Nieto Sovereign Prince Albert II President Filip Vujanovic President Armando Guebuza President Hifikepunye Pohamba King Willem-Alexander Prime Minister Mark Rutte Prime Minister John Key President Mahamadou Issoufou President Goodluck Jonathan Prime Minister Erna SolbergKronprinsen og Solberg på Mandela-minneseremoni TV2. Retrieved 9 December 2013 President Mamnoon Hussain President Mahmoud Abbas Prime Minister Donald Tusk President Aníbal Cavaco Silva Prime Minister Victor PontaVictor Ponta with Barack Obama in South Africa. Retrieved 10 December 2013 President Paul Kagame President Mohammed Abdelaziz Prime Minister Denzil Douglas Prime Minister Kenny Anthony Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves President Macky Sall President Tomislav Nikolić President James Michel President Ernest Bai Koroma President Ivan Gasparovic President Borut Pahor President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Prime Minister Jung Hong-won President Salva Kiir Mayardit Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy President Mahinda Rajapaksa President Dési Bouterse Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt President Ueli Maurer President Bashar al-Assad President Jakaya Kikwete President Faure Gnassingbe Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar President Moncef Marzouki President Yoweri Museveni Prime Minister David Cameron President Barack ObamaObama, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton Share Flight to South Africa. The New York Times. 10 December 2013. President José Mujica President Nicolás Maduro Prime Minister Ham Lini President Michael Sata President Robert Mugabe
Other royalty Country Title Dignitary Queen Mathilde Crown Prince Frederik Crown Prince Naruhito Queen Consort Rania Monaco Princess Consort Charlene Prince Moulay Rachid Crown Prince Haakon Prince Muqrin Crown Prince Felipe VI Crown Princess Victoria Prince of Wales Charles Duke of Cambridge Prince William Prince Harry
Government representatives Country Title Dignitary Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe Speaker of the Council of the Nation Abdelkader Bensalah Vice-president Manuel Vicente High Commissioner Carl Ruberts Ambassador Robert Murdoch Acting President Amado Boudou Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe Foreign Minister Maxine McClean Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Viktor Guminsky Foreign Minister Orlando Smith Deputy Prime Minister Angel Velichkov Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil Premier of the Yukon Darrell Pasloski Alberta Premier Alison Redford NDP Leader Tom Mulcair Foreign Minister John Baird Deputy Prime Minister Samuel Rangba Vice-president Li Yuanchao Vice-president Angelino Garzón Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kohout Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights Mohammed Faiq Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaime Miranda Foreign Minister Urmas Paet State Minister Surafiel Mhreteab Abed Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Laurent Fabius Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Peter Turkson Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén Chairperson of the National Advisory Council Sonia Gandhi Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj Vice President Mohammad Shariatmadari Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore President of the Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein Knesset representatives 5 Speakers President of the Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini Foreign Minister Mohlabi Tsekoa Government Representative Gitanas Nausėda Foreign Minister Ephraim Chiume Minister of the Federal Territories Tengku Adnan Tengku MansorTwo ministers to attend Mandela state funeral Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Maximus Ongkili Minister of Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans Vice-president Moises Omar Halleslevens Acevedo Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski Vice-president Marisol Espinoza Vice-president Jejomar BinayBinay leaves for Mandela funeral Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh Foreign Minister Bernard Membe Representative from Chama Cha Mapinduzi Vicky Swai Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara Minister of Culture Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband Mayor of London Boris Johnson Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt First Lady Michelle Obama Attorney General Eric Holder National Security Advisor Susan Rice Senator from Texas Ted Cruz United States Congress representatives 26 members of Congress Deputy Minister Donna Christian Christensen Minister of Foreign Relations Luis Almagro Chairman of the Presidential Office Đào Việt Trung Vice-president Guy Scott Foreign Minister Wilbur Simuusa Deputy Prime Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi
International organisations Organisation Title Dignitary President Samir Hosny Chairperson of the AU Commission Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland European Council President Herman Van Rompuy President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso President of Parliament Martin Schultz Head of Delegation Roeland van der Geer FAO President José Graziano da Silva ILO President Guy Ryder International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde International Organization for Migration Director General William Lacy Swing Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen OECD Secretary General José Ángel Gurría OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier Southern African Development Community Secretary General Stergomena Tax Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay Director general Irina Bokova United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime President Yuri Fedotov World Food Programme President Ertharin Cousin World Bank President Jim Yong Kim
Former heads of state / government Country / Org Title Dignitary State President / 1st Deputy President Frederik Willem De Klerk 2nd President Thabo Mbeki 3rd President Kgalema Motlanthe Former Prime Minister Paul Keating Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad 31st President José Sarney 32nd President Fernando Collor de Mello 34th President Fernando Henrique Cardoso 35th President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 16th Prime Minister Joe Clark 18th Prime Minister Brian Mulroney 19th Prime Minister Kim Campbell 20th Prime Minister Jean Chrétien 26th Governor General Adrienne Clarkson 27th Governor General Michaëlle Jean 30th President Andrés Pastrana 10th President Martti Ahtisaari 40th Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen 23rd President Nicolas Sarkozy 164th Prime Minister Alain Juppé 165th Prime Minister Lionel Jospin 13th President Horst Köhler 1st President (Fourth Republic) Jerry Rawlings 5th President Mohammad Khatami 7th President Mary Robinson Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi 58th Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda 1st President Sam Nujoma 35th Prime Minister Jim Bolger 1st President (Fourth Republic) Olusegun Obasanjo 11th Vice President Atiku Abubakar 27th Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg 2nd President Lech Wałęsa 3rd President Emil Constantinescu Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev former Prime Minister John Major former Prime Minister Tony Blair former Prime Minister Gordon Brown 39th President Jimmy Carter 42nd President Bill Clinton 43rd President George W. Bush Former Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein 1st President Kenneth Kaunda Former President Alpha Oumar Konare 7th Secretary General Kofi Annan
Other guests
This section is a partial list of notable guests who attended the memorial service. Bono, Irish singer (U2) and activistObama, Castro shake hands as world says farewell to peacemaker Mandela. Reuters. 10 December 2013. Richard Branson, British businessman, founder of Virgin Group Laura Bush, former First Lady, spouse of former US President George W. Bush Naomi Campbell, British model Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State (Governmental representatives). Peter Gabriel, British singer Bill Gates, American businessman, founder and president of Microsoft Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, minister, and politician Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State (Governmental representatives). Annie Lennox, British singer-songwriter Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player Charlize Theron, South African-American actress Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican Archbishop Oprah Winfrey, American television personality and actressNelson Mandela memorial guest list. The Daily Telegraph. 10 December 2013.
Non-attendance