Friday's Fabulous Woman: Graca Machel

Graca Machel is one of those woman who has achieved more in her lifetime than most.  Growing up in South Africa, I knew her as the wife of Mozambique's first President.  She is now married to Nelson Mandela.  Beyond being probably the only woman who has married two Presidents, she is a phenomenal talent in her right.

When Time Magazine listed her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world last year they wrote, “Graça Machel is a born freedom fighter. Long before she became one of the world’s most effective — and joyful — advocates for the rights of children, women and refugees, she was a schoolteacher in Mozambique seeking her country’s liberation from Portugal. In 1975, when it gained independence, she was named Minister for Education and Culture; she also married Samora Machel, who had become Mozambique’s first President. He died in a plane crash 11 years later, and in 1998 she wedded Nelson Mandela...Machel, 64, has a warm smile, a hearty laugh and a way of making everyone feel comfortable. She continues to campaign against pediatric AIDS and the abuse of children and refugees."

Image from here