Following the death of Nelson Mandela, the Spanish royal family expressed their condolences, calling the former South African leader "a close friend and key figure who showed great fighting spirit in search of freedom, justice and peace between peoples."

In his post on Twitter, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Mandela was "in everyone's hearts," adding that he was a "key figure in recent history," and an "example on the fight for equality."

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Mandela was "one of the few men who was able to change the course of history."

Former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero commented that Mandela "fought the worst instincts of the human race with the best of weapons, words, the call to peace and the idea of equality and reconciliation."