Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:
" More than anyone else, Nelson Mandela inspired my generation and our world. Today we grieve his death but also celebrate his life. He not only defeated apartheid in South Africa; he showed people in every continent that the moral force of democracy could overcome the barren might of tyranny. Each time I met him, his gentle strength and undimmed passion confirmed my conviction that democrats everywhere owe him a vast and lasting debt. "
