Twenty-six years ago today, on June 14, 1999 (May 1, 1999), Mbeki was elected as the new President of South Africa. Mbeki Mbeki, in his speech in Parliament, stressed that South Africa is a country for all South African people, regardless of race and gender. The people want peace and development in the country. He will serve the country and the people wholeheartedly, solve the people's concerns, meet the challenges facing South Africa, accelerate the pace of national development, and create a better life for all the people. In their speeches, the leaders of the opposition parties congratulated Mbeki on his election as President and praised the historic contribution made by the current President Mandela to the people of South Africa. Thabo Mbeki was born on June 18, 1942, to a Xhosa family in Umtata, Transkei, now Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. His father was an older leader and thinker of the ANC, and his mother was also an old member of the ANC. Due to the influence of his family, he was determined to fight for the liberation of black people from an early age. In 1960, after the ANC was banned, Mbeki went into exile to fight against the racist regime in South Africa. As a representative of the ANC, he established ANC offices in Britain, Botswana, Nigeria and Zambia, and planned and organized many major ANC activities overseas during this period. In 1970, Mbeki went to the Soviet Union for military training. He was elected to the ANC's executive committee in 1975. He became the ANC's press and propaganda secretary in 1984 and director of the ANC's foreign affairs department in 1989. After Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Mbeki returned to South Africa after 28 years in exile. That year, he held secret talks with de Klerk's white government as head of the ANC delegation. These talks culminated in South Africa's first non-racial national elections in April 1994. His talent and role in South Africa's peaceful democratic process were widely praised. In August 1993, Mbeki was elected as the National President of the ANC. In May 1994, he became the First Vice President of the Democratic Government of South Africa. In December 1994, he was elected Vice President of the ANC. In December 1997, he succeeded Mandela and was elected President of the ANC.