WORLD LEADERS’ REMARKS ABOUT NELSON MANDELA DEATH

South African President Jacob Zuma announced Nelson Mandela's death, saying South Africa had lost "its greatest son" and calling on South Africans to conduct themselves with the "dignity and respect" that Mr Mandela personified.

"Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss," he said.

President Obama on Mandela:

"He no longer belongs to us; he belongs to the ages"

"We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," he 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."

Russian President Vladimir Putin

"Mandela, having gone through the most difficult ordeals, was committed to the end of his days to the ideals of humanism and justice."

Chinese President Xi Jinping

The Chinese people would always remember Mr Mandela's "outstanding contributions to the China-South Africa relationship and the course of progress of mankind".

French President Francois Hollande 

Mr Mandela's message would "continue to inspire fighters for freedom, and to give confidence to peoples in the defence of just causes and universal rights".

Germany's Angela Merkel said Mr Mandela's "political legacy of non-violence and the condemnation of all forms of racism" would continue to inspire.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr Mandela was an "inspiration to the oppressed peoples all over the world" and had made "unparalleled personal sacrifices".

Liberia's President and Nobel peace prize laureate Ellen Johnston Sirleaf

Mr Mandela was a constant inspiration and would never be forgotten: "Nelson Mandela lives on as his life will continue to be the guiding light for those who excel, for those who have suffered for freedom and for peace."

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff

Mr Mandela would "guide all those who fight for social justice and for peace in the world", and India's Manmohan Singh said: "A giant among men has passed away."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

"This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. He was a true Gandhian. His life and work will remain a source of eternal inspiration for generations to come.''

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,

Mr Mandela "was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration".

Queen Elizabeth II:.

"A great light has gone out in the world," said British Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Mandela was "a towering figure in our time; a legend in life and now in death - a true global hero", he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"The most honourable figures of our time". He added: "He was the father of his people, a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence. He set a personal example for his people in the long years he spent in prison."

Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmud Abbas:

Mr Mandela was "a symbol of the liberation from colonialism and occupation". Mr Abbas added that "the Palestinian people will never forget his historic statement that the South African revolution will not have achieved its goals as long as the Palestinians are not free".

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani

Mr Mandela "had a firm belief in the freedom and equality of all humans, not only in his country South Africa, but also across the world", adding his life had been a "rough and rugged road full of hardship".

South African ex-President FW de Klerk, who freed Mr Mandela from prison in 1990 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with him in 1993, said: "Tata, we shall miss you - but know that your spirit and example will always be there to guide us to the vision of a better and more just South Africa."

Former Irish President Mary Robinson said: "His death leaves us bereft - it is felt by all of us as a personal loss."

"We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life," said former US President Bill Clinton.

"It's not just what he did but the way he did it that makes him so special," said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "He did it with a grace and a dignity that I think really inspired people everywhere."

From the Vatican, Pope Francis paid tribute "to the steadfast commitment shown by Nelson Mandela in promoting the human dignity of all the nation's citizens and in forging a new South Africa".

Adetunji Oduduwa

His life, philosophy and leadership are exemplary of man that is ready to sacrifice for others and his nation and not self-accumulation of wealth like majority of African leaders.

Jesse Jackson

He described Mandela as a global "force for good - with his suffering and his vision, he chose at critical moment reconciliation over retribution."

"He was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison," said South Africa's

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

 "We are relieved that his suffering is over, but our relief is drowned by our grief."

"Mr Mandela made us all understand that nobody should be penalised for the colour of his skin or the circumstances into which he was born,"

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel peace prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi:

"He also made us understand that we can change the world."

"Nelson Mandela's commitment to human rights was epitomised by his unswerving resolve to stamp out racial inequality during apartheid, followed by his vital work in combating HIV/Aids in South Africa," said Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty.

"All of us who admired him must carry on his struggle."

"How to conceive of a South Africa - no, a world - without Nelson Mandela, our Madiba, whose matchless humanity was bountiful enough for us to share with the world?" wrote Nobel Prize-winning South African poet Nadine Gordimer in a Globe and Mail piece.

"For myself, I can only be infinitely grateful that I knew him personally, that he touched my life."

Another South African writer, Zakes Mda, questioned Mandela's legacy in an article for the New York Times: "It is ironic that in today's South Africa, there is an increasingly vocal segment of black South Africans who feel that Mandela sold out the liberation struggle to white interests."

Idris Elba, who played the lead role in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, said: "What an honour it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.''

Another actor who played Mandela, Morgan Freeman, said the world had lost "one of the true giants of the past century. Nelson Mandela was a man of incomparable honor, unconquerable strength, and unyielding resolve - a saint to many, a hero to all who treasure liberty, freedom and the dignity of humankind."

"Among the many things one can say about our Madiba (Nelson Mandela's tribal name) is that he never thought of himself as big," said South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. "He was one of us, one of the people."

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali said: "What I will remember most about Mr Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.''

"It was as if he was born to teach the age a lesson in humility, in humour and above all else in patience," said Irish rock star and campaigner Bono.