Johannesburg, July 20: "Madibia, you are one in a million" is what everyone of the over 1,600 guests, including Hollwood stars, world leaders and royalty, had to say to the former South African president and hero of the anti-aparthied struggle, Nelson Mandela, at a grand party here to celebrate his 85th birthday. Former US president Bill Clinton, who attended the bash with his wife, Hillary, and daughter Chelsea, told the celebrity crowd how Mandela would phone him and cajole him about taking action on international affairs which he thought were important.

"I say to you Mr President, old friend, you have given the world many gifts. You have taught us the freedom of forgiveness, the futility of coercive power and the joy of service. You have taught us that every day can be a birthday," Clinton said.

Former South African president F W De Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela, was joined by Hollywood actors Robert De Niro and John Cusack, British supermodel Naomi Campbell, US talkshow host Oprah Winfrey and Coretta Scott King, wife of the late passive resistance leader of the United States, Martin Luther King.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South African President Thabo Mbeki also attended what has been described as the bash of the millenium last night. Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Shiv Mukherjee and his wife were among the diplomats who attended the celebrations.

Bureau Report