Desmond Tutu
Johnathan Gabert
Biography
Bishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. From 1967 to 1972 he taught theology in South Africa before returning to England for three years as the assistant director of a theological institute in London. In 1975 he was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, the first black to hold that position. From 1976 to 1978 he was Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Tutu is an honorary doctor of a number of leading universities in the USA, Britain and Germany. He has campaigned to fight HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, the imprisonment of Chelsea Manning, homophobia and trans-phobia. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.