In nearly seven decades spent fighting for freedom and equality, Nelson Mandela inspired and challenged the world to stand up for others. As word of Mandela’s death spread Thursday, current and former presidents, athletes and entertainers, and people around the world spoke out about the life and legacy of the former South African leader.

Some like former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had personal connections with Mandela. The two worked closely through a group of global leaders – The Elders – that Mandela formed in 2007 to promote human rights. Others only knew Mandela from afar but shared how they drew strength from his strength and looked to live his message of continuing the struggle against social injustice and for human rights.

Carter, who promotes human rights in working through the Atlanta-based Carter Center, said the people of South Africa and human rights advocates around the world had lost a great leader.

“His passion for freedom and justice created new hope for generations of oppressed people worldwide, and because of him, South Africa is today one of the world’s leading democracies,” Carter said in a statement.

“He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages,” said U.S. President Barack Obama, who shares with Mandela the distinction of being his nation’s first black president.

Prince William and his wife, Kate, were attending the London film premiere of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” when Mandela’s death was announced.

“We were just reminded of what an extraordinary and inspiring man Nelson Mandela was, and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family right now,” William said.

“ As we remember his triumphs, let us, in his memory, not just reflect on how far we’ve come, but on how far we have to go,” said the U.S. actor Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Mandela in the 2009 film, “Invictus.”

In 2009, the United Nations passed a resolution marking July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day. The aim, according to organizers, was to “encourage everyone to take action – big or small – to change the world for the better.”

U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe said the world mourns Mandela’s passing.

“In 1994, Mr. Mandela became the first black and democratically elected president of South Africa, embracing his former oppressors and leading the country on a new path of healing,” Ashe said in a statement. “By so doing, Mr. Mandela chose reconciliation over revenge, hope over despair.”

President Bill Clinton said Mandela “proved that there is freedom in forgiving, that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life’s real victories must be shared.”

In Haiti, a Caribbean nation that became the world’s first black republic in 1804 through a successful slave revolt, Mandela symbolized the struggle for black equality.

“Mandela is not only the father of democracy in South Africa, but is also a symbol of democracy,” said Haitian President Michel Martelly. “And like any symbol, he is not dead. He is present in all of us and guides us by his lifestyle, his courage and faith in the true struggle for equality.”

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg remembered how Mandela’s visit, in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, gave the city strength and hope.

“He devoted his life to building a more just, equal and compassionate world, and we are all better for it,” Bloomberg said.

“Through his leadership, he guided the world into a new era of politics in which black and white, developing and developed, north and south, despite all the huge differences in wealth and opportunity, stood for the first time together on equal terms,” said former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“Through his dignity, grace and the quality of his forgiveness, he made racism everywhere not just immoral but stupid; something not only to be disagreed with, but to be despised,” Blair added. “In its place he put the inalienable right of all humankind to be free and to be equal.”

Mandela was mourned in Cuba, which has long felt a close bond with the late South African leader. Havana considered him a hero for supporting it amid U.S. and international criticism.

“Exceptional human being, example for the world, Father of multiracial South Africa, the endearing friend of Fidel and Cuba,” journalist Juana Carrasco of the Communist youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde said via Twitter. “Long live Mandela!”

At the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky., on display is a photograph of the U.S. boxing great with Mandela, their hands clenched into fists as if they’re boxing.

“He made us realize, we are our brother’s keeper and that our brothers come in all colors,” Ali said in a statement. “What I will remember most about Mr. Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.”

Associated Press writers Julie Pace in Washington, Jake Pearson in New York, Cassandra Vinograd in London, David Koop in Mexico City, Bruce Schreiner in Lexington, Ky., Sara Burnett in Chicago and Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.