Ann Ducker MBE, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, had a business in South Africa from the early 1970s until 2005.

Paying tribute to him today she said: “He was a man to set an example to many leaders. I think without him South Africa wouldn’t be the place it is today.

“I had a business in South Africa, so I spent a lot of time there in the time of the apartheid and in time of the change-over. It was a drastic change. I remember spending time there when whites and blacks couldn’t mix.

“We employed black people in the factory and I was always absolutely disgusted they weren’t allowed to come in to the hotel with us. It was really difficult.

“I think Nelson Mandela has been a fantastic example for the rest of the world.”