At political gatherings, he is treated like a pop star. Young girls scream, young men shout his name and everyone from small children to the elderly pushes closer to get a glimpse of the man.

For the last four years, in stadiums and community halls, on farms and on soccer fields, Nelson Mandela has traveled South Africa and the world promoting his vision of racial reconciliation. His tireless campaigning and his insistent commitment to the cause of non-racialism have won him a Nobel Peace Prize and made him a global symbol of hope in the post-Cold-War era of ethnic conflicts and instability. But now with the election behind him, Mandela must transform the dream that has sustained him into the reality of a new, multiracial South Africa.

In the four years since he emerged from prison, he has led the push for democracy with a determination and vision that have left his leadership unchallenged. Although he lives in a suburb of Johannesburg, where the upper class lives, he has retained the respect of his country's poor masses. He has met with the general staffs of both the South African defense force and the national police force, which some suspect has secretly cooperated with white extremists, and also held talks with leaders of the right wing. Talking to foreign reporters last week, Mandela said he does not intend to ban the extremist white organizations the way the former government banned his organization, the African National Congress. At the same time, however, Mandela made it clear that he will not tolerate disobedience in his government.

Tall and dignified, with the erect bearing of a king, Mandela seems destined to become the President. "Right from the outset Nelson had a presence; he always made an impression on anybody that met him because of his sincerity and strong will," says one activist who has known Mandela since the 1940s, when he emerged as an energetic young figure on the political and social scenes.