Chris Hani is one of the most iconic black leaders in South Africa's recent history. He was the leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and chief of staff of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC. His assassination on 10 April 1993 by far-right wingers threatened to upset the negotiations process. Serious tensions followed the assassination, with fears that the country would erupt in violence. Mandela addressed the nation calling for calm, to avert further violence, stating "Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed so foul that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner origin, risked her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin. The cold-blooded murder of Chris Hani has sentshock waves throughout the country and the world...Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for—the freedom of all of us." This short biography brings out Hani's role in MK and in thepolitics of the early 1990s, and is written by a distinguished historian who met Hani in exile in Lusaka.