acknowledged. he admitted he would have liked to have spent more time with his family. in a rare interview with cnn on his 90th birthday. is there anything you wish you had done differently? i ve spoken to your wife and to many of your grandchildren and they suggested that perhaps you would have wished you had spent more time with your family. is that something you think about as you look back? i m sure many people that wish that and i also have that wis wish, that i spend more time with my family. reporter: so is that a regret of yours? i don t regret it because the things that affected me with things that pleased my soul. so i don t regret it. reporter: a man who went looking back over his life, acknowledged that sacrificing his family life was for the greater good. thank you.
and he took my hand and he took it up and he put his arm around me and we showed a unity, which i think resounded throughout south africa and across the world. i will count myself as a man of agent in our society. reporter: his presidency was marked by reconciliation. he admitted he would have liked to spent more type with his family in a rare interview with cnn on his 90th birthday. is there anything you wish you would have done differently? i spoke to your wife and grandchildren. they said perhaps you would have liked to spend more time with your family. is that something when you look back? i m sure many people, that is their wish and i also have that wish, that i spend more time with my family. so is that a regret of yours?
switzerland, just to meet with anc leaders and supporters to help develop the solidarity movement, which we were mounting here in our own country. when i worked for congressman dellums, i have to say, ron dellums and bill gray, they led the fight for many, many years for sanctions to put this country on the right side of history. i remember ron introduced the sanctions bill, it must have been 12 times. and he would not waver. he kept going and kept going. finally, when president reagan vetoed it, the congress overrode that veto and put the united states on the right side of history. but still, the anc and president mandela were considered terrorists. and it wasn t until i was in south africa a few years ago that i learned of this and came back and then we started our efforts with homeland security and with the state department to get him removed from the terrorist list. and that was for his 90th birthday. this is a really important moment, this reagan the apartheid, the sanctions b
reporter: cnn, johannesburg, south africa. i want to bring in robin. you bring in interviewed president mandela for his 90th birthday. i believe it was the last tv interview he did. what did he think his legacy would be? reporter: he always topped me, not only his family, that he wanted other people to define his legacy. i think he understood that it was quite organic and he would not be able to control it. and i think in a way that was a gift. he really insisted that his legacy should live personally within all of us. and i think that was key. but when it comes to nelson mandela and this extraordinary journey, this life of his, just think about it. beyond the political ill reply indications of his life and what an impact owed this country and democracy, just to put into perspective. he was born in 1918 as the first
the fight for many, many years for sanctions to put this country on the right side of history. i remember ron introduced the sanctions bill, it must have been 12 times. and he would not waver. he kept going and kept going. finally, when president reagan vetoed it, the congress overrode that veto and put the united states on the right side of history. but still, the anc and president mandela were considered terrorists. and it wasn t until i was in south africa a few years ago that i learned of this and came back and then we started our efforts with homeland security and with the state department to get him removed from the terrorist list. and that was for his 90th birthday. this is a really important moment, this reagan the apartheid, the sanctions bill. this movement starts to grow as nelson mandela in prison becomes the face of this movement. ronald reagan actually vetoes a bill passed by both houses of congress to impose sanctions on south africa and members of his own party vote