Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was discharged from the hospital Wednesday where he received treatment for a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones, according to several reports.
Mandela, the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, spent nearly three weeks in hospital. He has been in frail health for several years.
"He will undergo home-based high care at his (Johannesburg) home until he recovers fully," the South African government said in a statement.
"We request a continuation of the privacy consideration in order to allow for the best possible conditions for full recovery," it said, without offering further details.
South African president Jacob Zuma said in a statement that Mandela "is looking much better" and "the doctors are happy with the progress he is making."
Mandela's latest hospitalization has been the longest since he was released from prison in 1990. His health is closely watched - local news organizations have been camped outside the hospital. When in jail, Mandela contracted tuberculosis and has had lung problems since. In January last year, he suffered an acute respiratory problem.
Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with then-South African President F.W. DeKlerk for their work in steering the country toward democracy. Before he was elected president in 1994, Mandela was imprisoned for over three decades on sabotage and other crimes during his fight against apartheid.
Mandela became president after the country's first democratic elections in 1994 and served one term. In recent years he has retired to Qunu and has rarely been seen in public. His last appearance was in 2010 when South Africa hosted the soccer World Cup.
