Prime Minister John Key has expressed his sadness at the death of Nelson Mandela, saying he was an inspirational leader and a remarkable man.
South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon died in Johannesburg on Thursday night at the age of 95. The Nobel laureate led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s after 27 years in prison.
Mr Mandela had been receiving medical care at home for a lung infection since being discharged from hospital in September this year.
John Key said on Friday the former South African president symbolised that country's hope for a future free from apartheid and helped it come to terms with its past and build the foundations for a stronger nation through reconciliation.
"He is someone that leaders around the world have looked to, have spoken with, and for the people of New Zealand, someone that we've had great admiration for." Mr Key will lead New Zealand's delegation to Mr Mandela's funeral, expected to be at the end of next week.
Jim Bolger was New Zealand's Prime Minister during the key years of change in South Africa and attended Nelson Mandela's inauguration as president.
"I always remember one of his most powerful observations, which was that no one was born to hate - they had to be taught to hate," he told Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon programme on Friday. "It's always left an indelible message for me about the reality of life that Mandela faced and he never hated anyone."
Man of 'courage, vision and mana'
The Governor-General, Lieutenant-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, said Mr Mandela's death marks the passing of a global legend. Sir Jerry said he was a man of great courage, vision and mana who peacefully guided South Africa from the evil of apartheid to a racially inclusive democracy.
Labour Party leader David Cunliffe said Nelson Mandela's name is synonymous with peace and democracy and his death will leave an enormous void.
The Maori King, Tuheitia, added his condolences to Mr Mandela's whanau and the people of South Africa. He said the former president was the embodiment of the struggle faced by indigenous people who have fought for their rights to land and their own destinies.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said Nelson Mandela's life showed how one person's struggle against the injustices of apartheid and colonisation made a difference. He said despite Mr Mandela's imprisonment and ill-treatment he, more than anyone else, helped to move his country forward to a new era of democracy. Dr Norman said for many New Zealanders and especially Maori who had opposed the Springbok rugby tour of 1981 Mr Mandela was an inspirational figure.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the legacy left by Mr Mandela would have a lasting effect on South Africa. Mr Peters said Mr Mandela was a beacon to all those in South Africa who looked to heal the divisions of the past and to unite all South Africans. He said no one in New Zealand can forget the sight of the newly-elected president at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Former prime minister Helen Clark, who is now working for the United Nations in New York, said she found visiting the jail where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years very humbling.
Miss Clark met Mr Mandela twice - when he visited New Zealand in 1995 and in South Africa in 2002. She told Radio New Zealand's Afternoons programme on Friday that she also visited Robben Island, where Mr Mandela and his fellow anti-apartheid activists were held.
"To go to that prison and see how dismal it was and to be taken through by a former political prisoner, because they are the guides at Robben Island, to hear the story - yes, it was humbling. Humbling to think that you could walk from that without bitterness and build a South Africa where all are welcome - regardless of ethnicity."
