December 08, 2013
Sharples to join Mandela mourning
Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples is among the small group chosen to accompany Prime Minister John Key to this week’s official memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Also on the trip is Labour leader David Cunliffe and two members of the National Government cabinet during the 1981 Springbok tour, former prime minister Jim Bolger and then-foreign minister and later Commonwealth secretary general Sir Don McKinnon.
Mr Key says Nelson Mandela was a global icon for freedom who united South Africans following apartheid.
The official memorial service will be held at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday South African time, after which his body will lie in state at the parliament in Pretoria before a private burial in Qunu next Sunday.
Some commentators have suggested Mana vice president John Minto, who was active in protests against South Africa’s racist apartheid policies, should be included.
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