Taoiseach Charles Haughey presented with a Louis Le Brocquy portrait of jailed South African activist Nelson Mandela.
Mr Haughey was presented with the painting by Mrs Adelaide Tambo, anti-apartheid activist, a friend of Nelson Mandela and wife of Oliver Tambo, president of the African National Congress (ANC).
The gift was an acknowledgement of the Taoiseach's stand against the apartheid regime. Mrs Tambo thanked the Taoiseach for his actions in July 1988 when he, along with the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, demanded the release of Nelson Mandela.
The portrait of Mandela is part of a collection of works donated by 85 artists from all over the world to the United Nations. The collection will be presented as a gift to the government of a free and democratic South Africa elected by universal suffrage. Until South Africa achieves democracy the painting will be held in trust by the Association of Artists of the World Against Apartheid.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 September 1988.
