Retirement and later career

By the 1999 general election, Nelson Mandela had retired from active politics. He continued to maintain a busy schedule, however, raising money to build schools and clinics in South Africas rural heartland through his foundation, and serving as a mediator in Burundis civil war. He also published a number of books on his life and struggles, among them No Easy Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela The Struggle is my Life, and Nelson Mandelas Favorite African Folktales.Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in 2001. In June 2004, at the age of 85, he announced his formal retirement from public life and returned to his native village of Qunu.On July 18, 2007, Mandela convened a group of world leaders, including Graca Machel (whom Mandela wed in 1998), Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus, to address some of the worlds toughest issues. Aiming to work both publicly and privately to find solutions to problems around the globe, the group was aptly named The Elders. The Elders impact has spanned Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and their actions have included promoting peace and womens equality, demanding an end to atrocities, and supporting initiatives to address humanitarian crises and promote democracy.In addition to advocating for peace and equality on both a national and global scale, in his later years, Mandela remained committed to the fight against AIDSa disease that killed Mandelas son, Makgatho, in 2005.