South African archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has decided to take things easier and withdraw from public life. On the occasion of his 79th birthday he is setting out on a trip around the world with his wife Leah.

Desmond Tutu is often seen as the conscience of South Africa and widely admired for his integrity. He is also much loved for his jokes, many of them at his own expense, his disarming giggle and his little dances of joy. Many people remember the footage broadcast around the world of his reaction when he heard the news that Nelson Mandela was being released from prison.

Bishop Tutu announced back in July that it was time to make way for a new generation of leaders. “The time has come to take it easy and drink afternoon tea with my dear wife.”

Moral compass
As a young cleric in the 1970s Desmond Tutu attracted attention with his criticism of South Africa's apartheid regime. He was a keen supporter of the international economic boycott as the best way to bring the white rulers to their knees.

In 1984, Bishop Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his non-violent opposition to apartheid. This lent even more weight to his voice as the moral compass of South Africa and 1986 he became the first black man to be appointed Anglican archbishop of Cape Town.

Rainbow Nation
Following the collapse of the apartheid regime in 1990 Desmond Tutu was the obvious choice to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission investigated the crimes committed during white rule and attempted to ensure the various ethnic groups in South Africa could live together in peace - in what the archbishop liked to call a Rainbow Nation.

Desmond Tutu remained tireless in later years. He campaigned for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Africa and mediated in international conflicts. He received countless awards and decorations. Here in the Netherlands there is a Desmond Tutu Chair of Youth, Sport and Reconciliation at the VU University of Amsterdam.

The Elders
Observers doubt whether Bishop Tutu will really withdraw completely from public life. He will in any case continue to be active with The Elders, an international thinktank of elderly former statesmen and fellow Nobel laureates which attempts to find peaceful solutions to conflicts. The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town is also likely to take up a great deal of his time.