Nelson Mandela just had a statue in his honor unveiled in front of the Houses of Parliament.

London puts the South African leader's image in the elite company of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln and recognizes him as one of the greatest leaders of his age.

Mandela was very nervous and happy and said he was”honored” as his statue was unveiled.

The former South African president was visibly moved when Gordon Brown described the artwork as a "beacon of hope" for the oppressed around the world.

The Prime Minister said: "Nelson Mandela is one of the most courageous and best-loved men of all time. You will be here with us always."

Thousands of people gathered in central London to witness the event and to pay tribute to the veteran campaigner.

Amongst those present were Tory leader David Cameron, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

The former president of Africa, 89-year-old Mr. Mandela accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel both gazed amazed at the grandiose statue.

Mandela walked a bit shaky as he was cheered on stage by the crown gathered in the Parliament Square.

After the unveiling, he was escorted to the podium by Mr. Brown, to whom he wished "wisdom and strength" as leader of the UK.

Mr. Mandela told the crowd: "It's an honor for us to be with you on the occasion of the unveiling of this statue today. We never dreamed we would all be here today. Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolize all those who have resisted oppression, especially in my country."

Mr. Mandela added that he and a fellow anti-apartheid leader had wished for this day after a visit to Britain in the 1960s. "When Oliver Tambo visited Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square we half joked that one day a statue of a black person would be erected here."

``When we saw the statue of Gen. Smuts near Westminster Abbey, Oliver and I joked that perhaps someday there would be a statue of us in its stead,'' Mandela wrote in his autobiography, ``Long Walk to Freedom.''