On what date did Nelson Mandela sign South Africa’s final Constitution?

Nelson Mandela signed South Africa’s final Constitution on 10 December 1996.

The signing took place at Sharpeville, a site associated with the 1960 massacre in which police killed demonstrators opposing apartheid pass laws. Choosing Sharpeville gave the constitutional ceremony powerful historical meaning.

South Africa’s Constitutional Assembly adopted the Constitution in May 1996, but the Constitutional Court required changes before it could take effect. After the revised text met the court’s requirements, Mandela signed it into law at the ceremony in December.

The Constitution established the legal framework for the democratic republic and included a Bill of Rights. The date is sometimes confused with 27 April 1994, the day of the first democratic election, or 10 May 1994, Mandela’s inauguration. Those dates mark different milestones in the transition.