Desmond Tutu

Tutu, Desmond (1931– ), South African black minister, recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1957 Tutu was named the first black Anglican dean of Johannesburg. In 1978 he was appointed general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, elected bishop of Johannesburg in 1984, and archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. He has been a consistent opponent of apartheid. In 1995, he became chairman of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, which investigates violations of human rights during the apartheid era.