Fatima Meer | Mandela biographer, 81

Fatima Meer, 81, a friend and biographer of Nelson Mandela, died in a hospital in Durban, South Africa, on Friday, the South African Press Association reported, quoting a local politician and family friend, Logie Naidoo.

In a statement, Achmat Dangor, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the writer "had been a close friend of Mr. Mandela and his family for more than 60 years" and "a stalwart of the struggle against apartheid."

Her Mandela biography was titled Higher Than Hope.

Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, said that her death "is a great loss to the nation because she has contributed immeasurably to the struggle against apartheid." - AP