Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Cancer Compassion Award

Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, was ordained to the priesthood in 1961. Over the years, he served in a number of increasingly prominent positions. In 1978, in the wake of the 1976 Soweto uprising, Bishop Tutu was persuaded to take up the post of General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, a position that established him as a national and international figure.

He became a prominent leader in the crusade for justice and racial conciliation in South Africa; his extraordinary contributions to this cause earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Elevated to Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, he became the principal mediator and conciliator in the transition to democracy in South Africa.

Archbishop Tutu has held several distinguished academic and world leadership posts, has received many prizes and awards, and holds honorary degrees from more than 130 universities, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and Columbia.

In recent years, he has turned his attention to the campaign against HIV/AIDS, making appearances around the globe to help raise awareness of this disease and its tragic consequences.

Today Archbishop Tutu is regarded as an elder world statesman with a major role to play in reconciliation and as a leading moral voice. He has become an icon of hope far beyond the Church and Southern Africa.