# List of dignitaries at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela

This is a list of dignitaries at the state memorial service of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. Mandela died on 5 December 2013. Many heads of state and government attended the state memorial service on Tuesday, 10 December 2013, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The memorial service was one of the largest gatherings of world leaders. It was also the largest funeral in the history of South Africa, and the African continent itself.
Two UN secretaries-general, the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, two French presidents, four United States presidents, and four UK prime ministers attended the funeral service. In total, more than 500 VIP dignitaries from 19 supranational organizations and approximately 190 countries had arrived for this event. Some of the dignitaries later attended the burial ceremony on 15 December 2013 at Mandela's hometown, Qunu.
This memorial event was one of the largest in the world in terms of foreign leaders, along with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.

## Dignitaries
### Heads of state and government

| Country | Title | Dignitary |
| South Africa | President | Jacob Zuma |
| Afghanistan | President | Hamid Karzai |
| Albania | Prime Minister | Sali Berisha |
| Andorra | Prime Minister | Antoni Marti |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Prime Minister | Baldwin Spencer |
| Australia | Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
| Austria | Chancellor | Werner Faymann |
| Bahamas | Prime Minister | Perry Christie |
| Bangladesh | President | Abdul Hamid |
| Belgium | King | Philippe |
| Belgium | Prime Minister | Elio Di Rupo |
| Belize | Prime Minister | Dean Barrow |
| Benin | President | Yayi Boni |
| Botswana | President | Ian Khama |
| Brazil | President | Dilma Rousseff |
| Burundi | President | Pierre Nkurunziza |
| Canada | Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Chad | President | Idriss Déby |
| Chile | President | Sebastián Piñera |
| Comoros | President | Ikililou Dhoinine |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | President | Joseph Kabila |
| Republic of the Congo | President | Denis Sassou Nguesso |
| Croatia | President | Ivo Josipović |
| Cuba | President | Raúl Castro |
| Denmark | Prime Minister | Helle Thorning-Schmidt |
| Djibouti | President | Ismaïl Omar Guelleh |
| Dominica | President | Eliud Williams |
| Dominican Republic | President | Danilo Medina |
| East Timor | Prime Minister | Xanana Gusmão |
| Equatorial Guinea | President | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |
| Ethiopia | Prime Minister | Hailemariam Desalegn |
| Finland | President | Sauli Niinistö |
| France/ Andorra | President/Co-Prince | François Hollande |
| Gabon | President | Ali Bongo Ondimba |
| The Gambia | President | Yahya Jammeh |
| Germany | President | Joachim Gauck |
| Ghana | President | John Dramani Mahama |
| Greece | Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Grenada | Prime Minister | Keith Mitchell |
| Guinea | President | Alpha Condé |
| Guyana | President | Donald Ramotar |
| Haiti | President | Michel Martelly |
| Haiti | Prime Minister | Laurent Lamothe |
| Holy See | Prime Minister | Angelo Sodano |
| Hungary | Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
| Iceland | President | Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson |
| India | President | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Iraq | President | Jalal Talabani |
| Ireland | President | Michael D. Higgins |
| Italy | Prime Minister | Enrico Letta |
| Ivory Coast | President | Alassane Ouattara |
| Jamaica | Prime Minister | Portia Simpson-Miller |
| Jordan | Prime Minister | Abdullah Ensour |
| Kenya | President | Uhuru Kenyatta |
| Latvia | President | Andris Bērziņš |
| Lebanon | Prime Minister | Najib Mikati |
| Lesotho | Prime Minister | Tom Thabane |
| Lesotho | King | King Letsie III |
| Liberia | President | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf |
| Liechtenstein | Prime Minister | Adrian Hasler |
| Luxembourg | Grand Duke | Henri |
| Madagascar | President | Andry Rajoelina |
| Malawi | President | Joyce Banda |
| Mali | President | Ibrahim Boubacar Keita |
| Malta | Prime Minister | Joseph Muscat |
| Mauritania | President | Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz |
| Mauritius | Prime Minister | Navin Ramgoolam |
| Mexico | President | Enrique Peña Nieto |
| Monaco | Sovereign Prince | Albert II |
| Montenegro | President | Filip Vujanovic |
| Mozambique | President | Armando Guebuza |
| Namibia | President | Hifikepunye Pohamba |
| Netherlands | King | Willem-Alexander |
| Netherlands | Prime Minister | Mark Rutte |
| New Zealand | Prime Minister | John Key |
| Niger | President | Mahamadou Issoufou |
| Nigeria | President | Goodluck Jonathan |
| Norway | Prime Minister | Erna Solberg |
| Pakistan | President | Mamnoon Hussain |
| State of Palestine | President | Mahmoud Abbas |
| Poland | Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
| Portugal | President | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Romania | Prime Minister | Victor Ponta |
| Rwanda | President | Paul Kagame |
| Sahrawi Republic | President | Mohammed Abdelaziz |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Prime Minister | Denzil Douglas |
| Saint Lucia | Prime Minister | Kenny Anthony |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Prime Minister | Ralph Gonsalves |
| Senegal | President | Macky Sall |
| Serbia | President | Tomislav Nikolić |
| Seychelles | President | James Michel |
| Sierra Leone | President | Ernest Bai Koroma |
| Slovakia | President | Ivan Gasparovic |
| Slovenia | President | Borut Pahor |
| Somalia | President | Hassan Sheikh Mohamud |
| South Korea | Prime Minister | Jung Hong-won |
| South Sudan | President | Salva Kiir Mayardit |
| Spain | Prime Minister | Mariano Rajoy |
| Sri Lanka | President | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Suriname | President | Dési Bouterse |
| Swaziland | Prime Minister | Sibusiso Dlamini |
| Sweden | Prime Minister | Fredrik Reinfeldt |
| Switzerland | President | Ueli Maurer |
| Syria | President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Tanzania | President | Jakaya Kikwete |
| Togo | President | Faure Gnassingbe |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Prime Minister | Kamla Persad-Bissessar |
| Tunisia | President | Moncef Marzouki |
| Uganda | President | Yoweri Museveni |
| United Kingdom | Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| United States | President | Barack Obama |
| Uruguay | President | José Mujica |
| Venezuela | President | Nicolás Maduro |
| Vanuatu | Prime Minister | Ham Lini |
| Zambia | President | Michael Sata |
| Zimbabwe | President | Robert Mugabe |

### Other royalty

| Country | Title | Dignitary |
| Belgium | Queen | Mathilde |
| Denmark | Crown Prince | Frederik |
| Japan | Crown Prince | Naruhito |
| Jordan | Queen Consort | Rania |
| Monaco | Princess Consort | Charlene |
| Morocco | Prince | Moulay Rachid |
| Norway | Crown Prince | Haakon |
| Saudi Arabia | Prince | Muqrin |
| Spain | Crown Prince | Felipe VI |
| Sweden | Crown Princess | Victoria |
| United Kingdom | Prince of Wales | Charles |
| United Kingdom | Duke of Cambridge | Prince William |
| United Kingdom | Prince | Harry |

### Government representatives

| Country | Title | Dignitary |
| South Africa | Deputy President | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Algeria | Speaker of the Council of the Nation | Abdelkader Bensalah |
| Angola | Vice-president | Manuel Vicente |
| Antigua and Barbuda | High Commissioner | Carl Ruberts |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Ambassador | Robert Murdoch |
| Argentina | Acting President | Amado Boudou |
| Bahamas | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Fred Mitchell |
| Bahamas | Minister of Tourism | Obie Wilchcombe |
| Barbados | Foreign Minister | Maxine McClean |
| Belarus | Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives | Viktor Guminsky |
| British Virgin Islands | Foreign Minister | Orlando Smith |
| Bulgaria | Deputy Prime Minister | Angel Velichkov |
| Canada | Nova Scotia Premier | Stephen McNeil |
| Canada | Premier of the Yukon | Darrell Pasloski |
| Canada | Alberta Premier | Alison Redford |
| Canada | NDP Leader | Tom Mulcair |
| Canada | Foreign Minister | John Baird |
| Central African Republic | Deputy Prime Minister | Samuel Rangba |
| China | Vice-president | Li Yuanchao |
| Colombia | Vice-president | Angelino Garzón |
| Cuba | Foreign Minister | Bruno Rodriguez |
| Czech Republic | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Jan Kohout |
| Ecuador | Foreign Minister | Ricardo Patiño |
| Egypt | Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights | Mohammed Faiq |
| El Salvador | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Jaime Miranda |
| Estonia | Foreign Minister | Urmas Paet |
| Ethiopia | State Minister | Surafiel Mhreteab Abed |
| France | Minister of Foreign and European Affairs | Laurent Fabius |
| France | Minister of Justice | Christiane Taubira |
| Greece | Minister of National Defence | Dimitris Avramopoulos |
| Holy See | President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace | Peter Turkson |
| Hungary | Deputy Prime Minister | Zsolt Semjén |
| India | Chairperson of the National Advisory Council | Sonia Gandhi |
| India | Minister of Commerce and Industry | Anand Sharma |
| India | Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha | Sushma Swaraj |
| Iran | Vice President | Mohammad Shariatmadari |
| Ireland | Tánaiste | Eamon Gilmore |
| Israel | President of the Knesset | Yuli-Yoel Edelstein |
| Israel | Knesset representatives | 5 Speakers |
| Italy | President of the Chamber of Deputies | Laura Boldrini |
| Lesotho | Foreign Minister | Mohlabi Tsekoa |
| Lithuania | Government Representative | Gitanas Nausėda |
| Malawi | Foreign Minister | Ephraim Chiume |
| Malaysia | Minister of the Federal Territories | Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor |
| Malaysia | Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water | Maximus Ongkili |
| Nepal | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Madhav Prasad Ghimire |
| Netherlands | Foreign Minister | Frans Timmermans |
| Nicaragua | Vice-president | Moises Omar Halleslevens Acevedo |
| Poland | Foreign Minister | Radosław Sikorski |
| Peru | Vice-president | Marisol Espinoza |
| Philippines | Vice-president | Jejomar Binay |
| Russia | Chairwoman of the Federation Council | Valentina Matviyenko |
| Singapore | Deputy Prime Minister | Tharman Shanmugaratnam |
| Slovakia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Miroslav Lajčák |
| Sudan | Vice President | Bakri Hassan Saleh |
| Tanzania | Foreign Minister | Bernard Membe |
| Tanzania | Representative from Chama Cha Mapinduzi | Vicky Swai |
| Turkey | Deputy Prime Minister | Beşir Atalay |
| Ukraine | Foreign Minister | Leonid Kozhara |
| United Arab Emirates | Minister of Culture | Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan |
| United Kingdom | Deputy Prime Minister | Nick Clegg |
| United Kingdom | Leader of the Opposition | Ed Miliband |
| United Kingdom | Mayor of London | Boris Johnson |
| United Kingdom | Speaker of the House of Commons | John Bercow |
| United Kingdom | Health Secretary | Jeremy Hunt |
| United States | First Lady | Michelle Obama |
| United States | Attorney General | Eric Holder |
| United States | National Security Advisor | Susan Rice |
| United States | Senator from Texas | Ted Cruz |
| United States | United States Congress representatives | 26 members of Congress |
| United States Virgin Islands | Deputy Minister | Donna Christian Christensen |
| Uruguay | Minister of Foreign Relations | Luis Almagro |
| Vietnam | Chairman of the Presidential Office | Đào Việt Trung |
| Zambia | Vice-president | Guy Scott |
| Zambia | Foreign Minister | Wilbur Simuusa |
| Zimbabwe | Deputy Prime Minister | Simbarashe Mumbengegwi |

### International organisations

| Organisation | Title | Dignitary |
| Arab League | President | Samir Hosny |
| African Union | Chairperson of the AU Commission | Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma |
| Commonwealth of Nations | Secretary-General | Kamalesh Sharma |
| Council of Europe | Secretary General | Thorbjorn Jagland |
| European Council | President | Herman Van Rompuy |
| European Union | President of the European Commission | José Manuel Barroso |
| European Union | President of Parliament | Martin Schultz |
| European Union | Head of Delegation | Roeland van der Geer |
| FAO | President | José Graziano da Silva |
| ILO | President | Guy Ryder |
| International Monetary Fund | Managing Director | Christine Lagarde |
| International Organization for Migration | Director General | William Lacy Swing |
| NATO | Secretary General | Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
| OECD | Secretary General | José Ángel Gurría |
| OSCE | Secretary General | Lamberto Zannier |
| Southern African Development Community | Secretary General | Stergomena Tax |
| United Nations | Secretary-General | Ban Ki-moon |
| United Nations | Human Rights Commissioner | Navi Pillay |
| UNESCO | Director general | Irina Bokova |
| United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime | President | Yuri Fedotov |
| World Food Programme | President | Ertharin Cousin |
| World Bank | President | Jim Yong Kim |

### Former heads of state / government

| Country / Org | Title | Dignitary |
| South Africa | State President / 1st Deputy President | Frederik Willem De Klerk |
| South Africa | 2nd President | Thabo Mbeki |
| South Africa | 3rd President | Kgalema Motlanthe |
| Australia | Former Prime Minister | Paul Keating |
| Brazil | 31st President | José Sarney |
| Brazil | 32nd President | Fernando Collor de Mello |
| Brazil | 34th President | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| Brazil | 35th President | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
| Canada | 16th Prime Minister | Joe Clark |
| Canada | 18th Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
| Canada | 19th Prime Minister | Kim Campbell |
| Canada | 20th Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien |
| Canada | 26th Governor General | Adrienne Clarkson |
| Canada | 27th Governor General | Michaëlle Jean |
| Colombia | 30th President | Andrés Pastrana |
| Finland | 10th President | Martti Ahtisaari |
| Finland | 40th Prime Minister | Matti Vanhanen |
| France | 23rd President | Nicolas Sarkozy |
| France | 164th Prime Minister | Alain Juppé |
| France | 165th Prime Minister | Lionel Jospin |
| Germany | 13th President | Horst Köhler |
| Ghana | 1st President (Fourth Republic) | Jerry Rawlings |
| Iran | 5th President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Ireland | 7th President | Mary Robinson |
| Ireland | Former Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern |
| Italy | Former Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Japan | 58th Prime Minister | Yasuo Fukuda |
| Namibia | 1st President | Sam Nujoma |
| New Zealand | 35th Prime Minister | Jim Bolger |
| Nigeria | 1st President (Fourth Republic) | Olusegun Obasanjo |
| Nigeria | 11th Vice President | Atiku Abubakar |
| Norway | 27th Prime Minister | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Poland | 2nd President | Lech Wałęsa |
| Romania | 3rd President | Emil Constantinescu |
| Russia | Former Soviet President | Mikhail Gorbachev |
| United Kingdom | former Prime Minister | John Major |
| United Kingdom | former Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| United Kingdom | former Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| United States | 39th President | Jimmy Carter |
| United States | 42nd President | Bill Clinton |
| United States | 43rd President | George W. Bush |
| Tanzania | Former Vice President | Ali Mohamed Shein |
| Zambia | 1st President | Kenneth Kaunda |
| African Union | Former President | Alpha Oumar Konare |
| United Nations | 7th Secretary General | Kofi Annan |

### Other guests

This section is a partial list of notable guests who attended the memorial service.
* Bono, Irish singer (U2) and activist
* Richard Branson, British businessman, founder of Virgin Group
* Laura Bush, former First Lady, spouse of former US President George W. Bush
* Naomi Campbell, British model
* Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton
* Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State (Governmental representatives).
* Peter Gabriel, British singer
* Bill Gates, American businessman, founder and president of Microsoft
* Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, minister, and politician
* Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State (Governmental representatives).
* Annie Lennox, British singer-songwriter
* Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
* Charlize Theron, South African-American actress
* Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican Archbishop
* Oprah Winfrey, American television personality and actress

## Non-attendance

* Czech Republic: Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok, who did not attend, was caught on Czech television saying that he was "dreading" the funeral, swearing and complaining that lunch and dinner engagements would be interrupted by a trip to South Africa. Rusnok later apologized for his remarks, saying it was "not correct to use such terms" in connection to Mandela's death and funeral.
* Egypt: Egypt sent a delegation headed by Mohammed Faiq, head of the National Council for Human Rights, who attended several international human rights conferences and forums along with Mandela. There was speculation that Egypt did not want to embarrass its' interim government by sending a higher representative the memorial, as South Africa had criticized the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
* Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel was criticized in German media for not attending the memorial service, with one journalist saying it showed "a lack of empathy, a lack of humility and a lack of friendliness". Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who frequently attended funerals of world leaders during his term of office, did not attend. Germany's former leaders did not usually attend world leaders' funerals.
* Iran: Initial reports said President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif might attend the memorial service. Later reports said the two changed their plans to avoid meeting US President Barack Obama. Zarif was also said to have missed the service due to the visit of his Russian counterpart in Tehran.
* Israel: President Shimon Peres said he would not attend the memorial service for medical reasons. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the memorial service, citing financial and security reasons.
* Sudan: A spokesperson for the Sudanese embassy in South Africa confirmed President Omar al-Bashir would not attend the memorial service, in order to avoid complications from his indictment by the International Criminal Court.
* Republic of China (Taiwan): The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to not send a delegation because of the time constraint. Instead, Foreign Minister David Lin personally visited the Liaison Office of South Africa to convey condolences over the death of Mandela. In addition, the Representative of the ROC to South Africa visited the Union Buildings in Pretoria to view the remains of Mandela and pay respects on behalf of the ROC government.
* Thailand: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was expected to attend but declined due to ongoing protests against her government.
* Tibet: The 14th Dalai Lama was expected to attend the service but was denied a visa by the South African government.
* The Vatican: Pope Francis was sent an invitation to attend either the memorial or state funeral. He did not attend either because it was against the tradition that Popes do not usually attend funerals of world leaders.
* Vietnam: President Trương Tấn Sang did not attend the service due to the time constraint. The country was represented by Đào Việt Trung, Chairman of the Presidential Office.