Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa

a man of moral courage. Right now, he's facing criticism from his own
party over the recent firing of the deputy president, who has been accused
(with justification, apparently) of a "corrupt relationship" with a
businessman friend. Mbeki's former allies claim that it's a political plot
by Mbeki to get rid of a potential challenger, but in fact it's more a
situation of someone regretfully losing a friend (and a real hero of the
revolution) over a matter of principle . A personal tragedy, but a real
victory for transparency and the rule of law.