South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu – who won a Nobel Peace Prize back in 2004 for his efforts against apartheid – has just announced that he will be withdrawing from public life. After his 79th birthday in October, Tutu says he will reduce his work-load to just one day.

According to a report at bbc.co.uk, Tutu, who played a prominent role in his country’s struggle against the whites-only apartheid system, will then devote his work to The Elders – a group that was appointed by Nelson Mandela, to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town – the very first black cleric to hold that position – says that the highlight of his career, was introducing Mr. Nelson Mandela as the South African president in 1994. During the 27 year that Mandela was in prison, Tutu spoke out against apartheid.

In a nationally televised news conference from Cape Town, Desmond Tutu explained how his schedule had become more punishing in recent years. He then went on to say that the time had come to slow down, and says he now wants to spend more time sipping tea with his wife.

You can read the full story via bbc.co.uk.