--- title: Nelson Mandela Memorial: Barack Obama, Raul Castro Among Speakers description: President Barack Obama will be among the world leaders speaking at a Tuesday memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, the South African... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7180035/obama-raul-castro-to-speak-at-nelson-mandela-memorial/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-12-09T18:14:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-18T06:19:58.236Z article:section: Politics og:title: Nelson Mandela Memorial: Barack Obama, Raul Castro Among Speakers og:description: President Barack Obama will be among the world leaders speaking at a Tuesday memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, the South African... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7180035/obama-raul-castro-to-speak-at-nelson-mandela-memorial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt801cbd37831bbec8/698a9ccc929fad8ef5c03b67/171967329.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: SAFRICA-DIPLOMACY-OBAMA-ROBBEN ISLAND og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nelson Mandela Memorial: Barack Obama, Raul Castro Among Speakers twitter:description: President Barack Obama will be among the world leaders speaking at a Tuesday memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, the South African... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt801cbd37831bbec8/698a9ccc929fad8ef5c03b67/171967329.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) # Obama, Raul Castro To Speak At Nelson Mandela Memorial > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=61932ae7-a2d5-4b21-aa0d-9fc1021fe7c2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Dec 9, 2013 6:14 PM UTC  US President Barack Obama looks out the window from the cell where Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid legend, was once jailed on Robben Island, on June 30, 2013\. Paying homage to the 94-year-old former South-African president, who is critically ill in hospital, Obama stared into the stark cell where Mandela spent two thirds of his 27 years in jail. AFP PHOTO/JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) US President Barack Obama looks out the window from the cell where Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid legend, was once jailed on Robben Island, on June 30, 2013\. Paying homage to the 94-year-old former South-African president, who is critically ill in hospital, Obama stared into the stark cell where Mandela spent two thirds of his 27 years in jail. AFP PHOTO/JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images—2013 AFP by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Dec 9, 2013 6:14 PM UTC President Barack Obama will be among the world leaders speaking at a Tuesday memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, the South African government [announced](http://www.mandela.gov.za/memorial/programme.pdf) Monday. Among the other speakers honoring the former South African president and anti-apartheid leader are members of Mandela’s family, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Cuban President Raúl Castro. Aboard Air Force One, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said Obama will speak for about 10-15 minutes at the memorial service. “He’ll reflect on what Nelson Mandela meant to the people of South Africa, to him personally as well,” Rhodes said. The White House said Obama was not expected to hold formal meetings with any of the foreign leaders while he is in South Africa. South African President Jacob Zuma will offer the “keynote” address at the service, being held at a soccer stadium and simulcast at other large venues, in the middle of a 10-day mourning period following Mandela’s death last week. According to the program, the service is expected to last at least four hours. 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