Wedding day also marked
As Nelson Mandela turns 95 on Thursday, he also marks 15 years of marriage to Graca Machel, who throughout his hospitalization has wooed a nation with her dignified poise.
Over the past six weeks, Machel has kept a near round-the-clock vigil at her husband's hospital bedside, leaving to attend Mandela's charity events or visit their Johannesburg home.
But then the Mozambique-born Machel, who is 27 years younger, has already been by Mandela's side for 15 years of marriage.
"We make sure we spend time with each other because we were so lonely before. You only live once," she once said.
Machel married Mandela in 1998, 12 years after her first husband, former Mozambican president Samora Machel, died in a mysterious plane crash.
At that time, Mandela had been divorced from his second wife, Winnie, for two years, but estranged by time and prison for three decades.
"When I am alone, I am very weak," South Africa's first black president said when discussing Machel in 2007.
On the cusp of their anniversary, Mandela's close friend and lawyer George Bizos described them as "a loving couple".
"They are very happy together," he said, adding that Machel "is dedicated to the well-being of her husband, Nelson. It's commonly known that she spends a long time at his bedside."
The two met in the early 1990s and fast became friends. As Mandela's second marriage withered, their relationship grew. After being spotted at several events holding hands and even stealing a kiss, the presidency declared Machel was officially Mandela's companion.
(China Daily 07/19/2013 page10)
