Thabo Mbeki is the most important African political figure of his generation and the dominant figure in South African politics for 14 years. A pan-African philosopher-king who spent two decades in exile, as a president of Africa's most industrialised state, he set out a sweeping vision of an African Renaissance. As a key liberation leader in exile, Mbeki was instrumental in his party's anti-apartheid struggle. During the South African transition, he helped build one of the world's most respected constitutional democracies. As president, despite some successes, he was unable to overcome South Africa's inherited socio-economic challenges and his disastrous AIDS policies will remain a major blemish. He will, however, be remembered more as a foreign policy president for his peacemaking efforts in Africa and building of continental institutions such as AU and NEPAD. This book seeks to rescue Mbeki from South African parochialism and to restore him to the pan-African pantheon.