The wife of Nelson Mandela is an African icon in her own right.
As a young woman Gracha Machel fought in a guerrilla war and then became the first education minister in a newly independent Mozambique, significantly reducing the illiteracy rate in her 14 years in office.
Married to Mozambican president Samora Machel she was widowed in 1986 when her husband was killed in a plane crash – the circumstances of which have never been fully ascertained.
Machel has championed many causes, in particular the rights of children, becoming a Unicef ambassador.
