Nelson Mandela Awards: 1980 - 1989
- 1980
- Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, New Delhi, India, 14 November
- 1981
- Freedom of the City of Glasgow, 4 August. The scroll was accepted on behalf of Mandela by the Vice-President of Nigeria
- Road named after Mandela by the London Borough of Brent
- Seventeen-thousand-signature petition handed to South African Embassy in Paris calling for release of Mandela
- Dr Bruno Kreisky Prize for merit in the field of human rights, Vienna, Austria
- 1982
- Elected Honorary Life President of the Students' Union at the London School of Economics and Political Science
- By August 1982 a total of 2,000 mayors in 53 countries worldwide had signed a petition for Nelson Mandela's release
- Organisation of African Unity calls for release of Nelson Mandela
- 1983
- Honorary citizenship of Rome, February. Scroll received by Vice-President of Mozambique
- Honorary citizenship of Olympia (original site of the Olympic Games), Greece, 17 March
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws. City College of New York, 5 June
- City Council of Dublin, Ireland, unveiled sculpture in a city park by Elisabeth Frink dedicated to Nelson Mandela, 26 June
- Award of the order 'Star of International Friendship' in gold by the German Democratic Republic, 18 July
- City Council of Harlow, United Kingdom, renamed one of its major roads in honour of Nelson Mandela, 18 July
- AUEW (TASS), on of Britain's major trade unions, held a special ceremony to rename their executive committee room the 'Nelson Mandela Room', 18 July
- Freedom of London Borough of Greenwich, 20 July
- UNESCO awards its first Simon Bolivar International Prize jointly to Nelson Mandela and King Juan Carlos of Spain at a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bolivar, 24 July
- City Council of Leeds, Britain, names the Civic Hall 'Nelson Mandela Gardens', 10 December
- Twelve members of the United States Congress call for Nelson and Winnie Mandela to be made honorary citizens of the USA
- Second chamber of Netherlands parliament asks Netherlands government to urge South African government to release Nelson Mandela and all South African political prisoners
- Seventy-eight members of British parliament call for Nelson Mandela's release
- Park in Hull, Britain, named 'Mandela Park'
- Labour Party of Britain invites Nelson Mandela as a guest of its Annual Conference
- Netherlands government informs the South African government that it is prepared to grant Nelson Mandela political asylum and requests his release
- Nominated for election to the Chancellorship of the University of Natal, South Africa, by the Students' Representative Council
- Honorary LL.D, University of Lancaster, Britain
- City of Cardiff, Wales, named a street after Nelson Mandela
- The students of Warwick University, Coventry and South Bank Polytechnic Students Union named rooms in honour of Nelson Mandela
- New York City renamed square in front of South African mission to the United Nations 'Nelson and Winnie Mandela Plaza'
- 1984
- Honorary Degree, Free University of Brussels, 13 January
- Camden Borough Council, London, names the street where the Anti-Apartheid Movement has its headquarters as 'Mandela Street'.
- The British pop group Special AKA releases a record called 'Free Nelson Mandela' which becomes a hit
- Hackney Council, London, renames a housing block after Nelson Mandela, April
- Playa Giron Award, Cuba, awarded by Fidel Castro
- Honorary membership of National and Local Government Officers Association [NALGO] Britain
- Haringey Borough Council, London, names housing development after Nelson Mandela
- Resolution sponsored by 135 Congressman in US House of Representatives calling for release of Nelson Mandela approved by acclamation by House Foreign Affairs Committee and approved by Senate
- Synod of Nedertuitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Africa (NGKA) calls for release of Nelson Mandela
- Monument to Nelson Mandela unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin
- Bishop Trevor Huddleston presents 50,000 signatures on international petition to Javier Perez de Cuellar, UN Secretary General. calling for the release of Mandela and all South African political prisoners
- Elected Honorary Member of the Students Association, University of Strathclyde. Scotland
- Freedom of the City of Wijnegen, Belgium
- Awarded Star of International Friendship, German Democratic Republic, 27 August
- Freedom of the City of Aberdeen conferred on both Nelson and Winnie Mandela, 29 November
- School in German Democratic Republic named 'Nelson Mandela School'
- 1985
- Revenue Staff Federation, Britain, names its Commonwealth trade union scholarship after Nelson Mandela
- London Borough of Southwark names new road 'Mandela Way'
- Nottingham City Council names a room in a sports centre
- Mayors representing more than fifty British towns and cities march through London in full ceremonial dress to ask the Prime Minister to take further steps to secure Nelson Mandela's release
- The 1985 Third World Prize, awarded annually by the London-based Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies, awarded jointly to Nelson and Winnie Mandela
- Awarded freedom of the City of Hull, UK.
- Awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize by Human Rights Institute of The Bar of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, 29 March
- Nigerian writers organisation, Writers and Journalists Against Apartheid (WAJAAP), confers title of Life Patron
- City of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, UK, renames its speakers' corner Nelson Mandela Corner, September
- Freedom of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
- Honorary citizenship of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
- Diploma of Honour and Friendship from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
- Statue of Nelson Mandela erected in London by Greater London Council, unveiled by Oliver Tambo on 28 October
- Senegal's President Abdou Diouf inaugurates Soweto Square and Nelson Mandela Avenue in the centre of Dakar, 6 December
- Awarded Doctor of Laws degree by Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, December
- 1986
- Elected Honorary Life President of the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa
- Awarded the W E B DuBois International Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)
- Coventry City Council named new building after Mandela
- Presented with the Alfonso Comin Foundation Peace Award in Barcelona, Spain
- Freedom of the Borough of Islwyn, Wales, given to Winnie and Nelson Mandela
- Awarded International Peace and Freedom Award by the Workers International Centre, Stockholm Sweden
- Awarded, with Winnie Mandela, the Third World Prize by the Strategic and International Studies Group of Malaysia, 5 May
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Zimbabwe
- Park in Leicester, England, named after Mandela
- Honorary membership awarded to Winnie and Nelson Mandela by the National Union of Seamen, Britain
- Street in Glasgow, Scotland, where South African Consulate is sited, renamed after Mandela
- 1987
- First person to receive the Freedom of the City of Sydney, Australia, 9 January.
- Honorary Degrees, Winnie and Nelson Mandela, United States Ross University Medical School in the Caribbean
- Named Patron of Isipingo and District Football Association, Natal
- Honorary Degree, University of Michigan, USA
- Honorary Degree. University of Havana, Cuba
- Honorary Citizen, City of Florence, Italy
- Topped a poll in the Johannesburg newspaper, Sowetan, of the people its readers would like to run South Africa
- Honorary Doctorate, Karl Marx University of the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig, 11 November
- 1988
- Awarded Bremen Solidarity Prize, Federal Republic of Germany
- Nelson and Winnie Mandela given honorary membership of the National Union of Teachers, Great Britain
- Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert, Wembley Stadium, London, 11 June. Attended by audience of 72,000 and seen on television by close to a billion people in over 60 countries
- Awarded freedom of the City of Dublin, Ireland
- Awarded the Sakharov Prize
- Honorary Doctorate conferred, University of Carabobo, Venezuela, June
- People of Levkada, Greece, award the Medal of Peace, August
- Honorary citizenship conferred by nine Greek municiplaities: Egaleo, Ellenikon, Glyfada, Ilioupolis, Daissariani, New Filadelfia, Nikaea, Preveza and Zogrofu
- Honorary degree in Political Science awarded by the University of Bologna, Italy, 12 September
- Honorary citizenship bestowed by the Town Council of the city of Bologna, Italy, September
- Awarded the United Nations Human Rights Fourth Award, 10 December
- 'Nelson Mandela Road' named, New Delhi, India, 10 December
- 1989
- Agusto Cesar Sandino Award bestowed by Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, Managua, 21 February
- Freedom of the Municipality of KweKwe, Zimbabwe, conferred. Award received by Oliver Tambo
- Awarded Peace Prize of the Tipperary Peace Committee, Ireland
- Nuremberg Platz renamed 'Nelson Mandela Platz', Nuremberg, Germany, June
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws, York University, Toronto, Canada, 16 June
- Square in Clayes-sous-Bois, France, named 'Nelson Mandela Square', September
