As the ailing Nelson Mandela turned 95 this month, the international community celebrated his legacy and rooted for his recovery.
Just to the north in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, 89, is running for re-election this week. He's looking to extend his 33 years in power, which have been marked by authoritarian rule, economic collapse and international isolation.
These two men have shaped their neighboring countries in dramatically different ways. Mandela is a global icon in a country often cited as a land of hope. Mugabe is a widely seen as pariah in a country that has endured a precipitous decline.
Their global reputations could hardly be more different. With both men in the news, we took a look at their legacies, and two things stand out.
First, before Mandela and Mugabe came to power, they had remarkably similar biographies. Second, neither South Africa's successes under Mandela nor Zimbabwe's failings under Mugabe were foregone conclusions.
Parallel Lives
First, the similarities between the two men. Martin Meredith, a British author who has written biographies of both men, sums them up this way:
"Both were born in an era when white power prevailed throughout Africa, Mandela in 1918, Mugabe in 1924. Both were products of the Christian mission school system, Mandela of the Methodist variety, Mugabe of the Catholic. Both attended the same university, Fort Hare in South Africa. Both emerged as members of the small African professional elite, Mandela a lawyer, Mugabe a teacher. Both were drawn into the struggle against white minority rule, Mandela in South Africa, Mugabe in neighboring Rhodesia. Both advocated violence to bring down white-run regimes. Both endured long terms of imprisonment, Mandela, 27 years, Mugabe, 11 years."