10 Facts About Donald Rickard

Donald C Rickard was an American diplomat for the State Department and spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Shortly before his death, Rickard claimed to have provided the information that led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela in 1962 due to allegations of communist influence under Mandela while he was working as a vice-consul in Durban, South Africa.

Donald Rickard was born in Rangoon, Burma, on 2 March 1928 to Samuel Harmer Rickard Jr and Ada Thomas Rickard.

The family later moved to the San Francisco Bay area where Donald Rickard attended Piedmont High School and then San Jose State University.

Donald Rickard had diplomatic appointments in Burma, Saipan, Pakistan and South Africa.

Donald Rickard worked for the State Department in Maryland and Washington, DC, and in 1969 was a US consular officer in Seoul, South Korea.

In 1958, Donald Rickard was appointed American vice-consul in Durban, South Africa.

Donald Rickard went on to become South Africa's first post-apartheid president in 1994.

Donald Rickard retired in 1978 and spent the rest of his life in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Donald Rickard met Elaine Grove at Bucknell University and they married in September 1952.