Before his presidency, Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the ANC. He spent nearly three decades in prison for his struggle against apartheid, much of it spent in a cell on Robben Island, Mandela became the most widely known figure in the struggle against apartheid and a cultural icon of freedom and equality. Following his release from prison in 1990, his switch to a policy of reconciliation and negotiation helped lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa.