Leading the long list of past world leaders who have been mourning Nelson Mandela is F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993.

Mr Klerk praised Madiba as “a great unifier and a very, very special man” in this regard beyond everything else he did.

Former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush, who was in office when Mandela was released from prison in 1990, said: “As president, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 27 years of wrongful imprisonment – setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all.”

The U.N. Security Council was in session when the ambassadors received the news of Mandela’s death. They stopped their meeting and stood for a minute’s silence

European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton said that “more than anyone else, Nelson Mandela inspired my generation and our world.”

There are also reactions from former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair and the former US President, Bill Clinton.