South Africa and the world is mourning the passing of 95-year-old anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela who died on Thursday. Mandela was South Africa's first black president. He held office from 1994 until 1997.

Mandela, also known by his clan name Madiba, will be laid to rest on December 15th in his ancestral home in the eastern Cape town of Qunu.

Several events will be held in that country prior to Mandela being laid to rest it was announced by South African president, Jacob Zuma. “We will spend the week mourning his passing,” he said.”We will also spend it celebrating a life well-lived, a life that we must all emulate for the betterment of our country and Africa. Long live Madiba.”

One such event, expected to be the emotional peak of next week will be a ceremony to be held at the Soweto soccer stadium where the first and last games of the 2010 World Cup took place and Mandela took to the field to wave to the 85,000 spectators in attendence.

“The outpouring of love that we experienced locally and abroad was unprecedented,” Zuma said. “It demonstrates the caliber of a leader that Madiba was. We will always love Madiba for teaching us that it is possible to overcome hatred and anger in order to create a new nation and a new society.”

President Obama and the First Lady are scheduled to travel to South Africa next week to pay their respects to Mandela. President Obama released a statement after learning of Mandela’s death. Saying he was one of countless millions who drew inspiration from the Afrtican leader, the president said, “Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa — and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a President embodied the promise that human beings — and countries — can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives. And the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor, and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections, only makes the man that much more remarkable.” Obama’s full statement can be read here.

It is expected that every living U.S. president, as well as many world leaders and dignitaries will also be in attendence.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison, those terms were split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor, and Victor Verster Prison. He was released after intense international loobying in 1990. After his release in 1990, he opened negotiations with then-President F.W. de Klerk which led to repeal of apartheid and multi-racial elections in 1994. Mandela won that election and formed the Government of National Unity.

New York’s Mayor Bloomberg announced on Friday that a Brooklyn High School slated to open in September, will be named after Mandela. It will be named the Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice.

Mandela died of a lung infection at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg surrounded by his family.