Nelson Mandela

Mandela's presidency helped consolidate South Africa's move from parliamentary sovereignty under apartheid to a democratic constitution binding government to enforceable rights. The 1996 text was made by the Constitutional Assembly and had to satisfy principles agreed during the transition before he could sign it. The Constitutional Court initially refused certification, requiring revision. That sequence matters: the founding president operated within a process where a court could insist that the political majority meet prior constitutional commitments.