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Aishwarya Rai Pays Tribute To Nelson Mandela (PHOTO)

When Aishwarya Rai Met Nelson Mandela
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As the world mourned Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, another celebrity took their time to pay tribute to the late South African icon.

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai posted a touching Facebook photo on Tuesday, which showed the former beauty queen shaking hands with the late anti-apartheid leader during the Miss World pageant (which she won) in 1994 which was held in South Africa that year.

The 40-year-old wrote about her experience meeting the late President in an article for the non-profit Beauty With a Purpose: "And what more could one ask for than an audience with President Mandela himself, a man deservedly admired and respected the world over for his contributions towards humanity."

World leaders paid their respects to Madiba in South Africa including U.S. President Barack Obama, Cuban President Raúl Castro (who shook Obama's hand in a historic moment) and former US President George W Bush.

Obama paid tribute to Mandela in a touching eulogy:

"He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood - a son and husband, a father and a friend. That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith. He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well."

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