An Australian politician has apologised to South Africa’s high commissioner for incorrectly announcing that Nelson Mandela had died.
Resources minister Gary Gray acknowledged he wrongly told guests attending a Minerals Council of Australia dinner at Parliament House that the anti-apartheid leader was dead.
“I apologise unreservedly and am deeply sorry to have relayed what I thought was reliable advice,” Mr Gray said in a statement.
Mandela is in a critical condition at a hospital.
The 94-year-old former president was admitted to the Pretoria hospital on June 8 to be treated for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.
Mr Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white apartheid rule. He was freed in 1990 and became South Africa’s first black president in 1994.