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Mandela became president in South Africa's historic 1994 election (选举)．After that, he often looked to Walter Sisulu, one of his closest friends for more than sixty years, for guidance. Sisulu was in many ways as important as Mandela in the fight against South Africa's racist system (种族主义制度)．
In 1944, the two, along with the late Oliver Tambo, founded the ANC Youth League. The ANCYL favored a more militant (激进的) way to the movement against the government. They soon took over the ANC, with Sisulu serving as its secretary general from 1949 to 1954. In 1963, he, Mandela and other top ANC leaders were sentenced to life in prison.
Sisulu was always calm and patient after he was released. The day after his release on Oct.15,1989，Sisulu explained to reporters how “it was not possible to lose hope because the spirit of the people outside was too great.” Mandela's release came four months later.
Sisulu was born in 1912. Unlike Mandela, whose father was a chief (酋长)，Sisulu was the child of a black maid (女仆) and a white worker. His father left the family when Sisulu was small.
He was educated for a while at a local school, but left when he was 15 to support his family. He took whatever jobs he could, and continued to learn on his own. In 1940, he joined the ANC and got Mandela to join it a year later.
“Our paths first met in 1941. During the past 62 years, our lives have been closely connected. We shared the joy of living, and the pain. We walked side by side through the valley of death. Together we enjoyed the taste of freedom，” Mandela said after Sisulu died on May 5th, 2003.“A part of me is gone.”
