Churchill single-handedly prevented Hitler from gaining control of Europe. Washington won a war to free a colony and then served as its first leader.

And Mandela changed the face of an entire nation, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"South Africa is a country unrecognizable from 10 years ago," he wrote Mandela in a birthday note. "Few would have dared then to predict the speed of transformation from apartheid to government based on democratic principles."

Blair names Mandela as the personality behind the change. "The steps that are being taken towards an equitable and open society are a direct reflection of your personal conviction that South Africa should never again experience oppression of one by another."

Mandela resisted showing any feelings of hatred for the white ruling classes that had thrown him in prison.

"He came out as committed and as focused as he went in," Bates says.

Aware of the power of cultural symbols, Mandela used daily events to change South Africa.

In South Africa, the black classes have traditionally watched soccer games, and the Afrikaners are avid fans of rugby.

At a 1994 World Cup match, Mandela donned a rugby shirt, communicating a message of peaceful tolerance to his people.

"Everyone feels that he is a leader.," Bates says. "There's something there. His ability to understand people and locate common ground with people."

By ending apartheid without violence, Bates says, Mandela accomplished what many saw as impossible.

"He is one of the great heroes of the 20th century," Campbell says.

A Policy of People

In his autobiography Mandela wrote that the secret to success as a leader is understanding those you represent. Gathered around the Great Place in his African village, Mandela watched and listened, learning from the regent the skills that would one day bring him fame.

"I always remember the regent's axiom: A leader,' he said, is like a sheperd. He stays behind the flock letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."'

In this way, Mandela always puts the people first, never setting a clear economic agenda for his presidency because he says he wanted the flexibility to do what was best for the children and others in the society.