JOHANNESBURG , South Africa ( CNN ) -- Anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman , twice nominated for a Nobel Peace prize , died Thursday at her home in Johannesburg , South Africa . She was 91 . Helen Suzman , pictured at her Johannesburg home in November 2007 . Suzman , a constant thorn in the side of South Africa 's apartheid governments , was one of the leading white opponents of the segregationist regime and the only opposition lawmaker for 13 of the 36 years she served in parliament . She was particularly instrumental in exposing the indignities of the pass laws , which curtailed the movement of black South Africans . The Nelson Mandela Foundation , in a statement Thursday , called Suzman `` a great patriot and a fearless fighter against apartheid . '' Send your tributes to Helen Suzman . The African National Congress ( ANC ) , the ruling party in South Africa , also paid tribute , saying : `` As a member of parliament and a vocal critic against apartheid , the ANC remembers and respects the contribution of Suzman towards the demise of apartheid . '' Suzman told CNN in an interview in 2008 that she was `` persistent '' in her fight against the injustices of apartheid and used her position to constantly ask uncomfortable questions . Watch Suzman 's fight against apartheid . » . `` I used to put 200 questions a session , '' she said . `` They were all of course designed to expose the atrocities . I made good use of my parliamentary position . '' A hugely influential advocate for prisoner 's rights , Suzman was one of the first people to visit future South African President Nelson Mandela in jail on Robben Island in 1967 , shaking hands with him through his cell bars . `` I knew immediately that this was a man of considerable courage , '' she said . Suzman continued to work for his release , visiting him frequently in the 27 years he was imprisoned . Mandela and Suzman remained friends after his release in 1990 , often having lunch at her home in Johannesburg , where she said she would serve him `` his favorite dish , oxtail . '' After she retired from parliament , Suzman continued to play an active role in South Africa 's new democracy and was honored by numerous prestigious universities , with 27 honorary doctorates from Cambridge , Oxford , Harvard , Yale and Columbia among others . In a nod to Suzman 's tenacity and legendary sense of humor , the Helen Suzman Foundation Web site writes that one `` honor '' Suzman was `` inordinately proud '' of was being declared an `` Enemy of the State '' by Zimbabwe 's Robert Mugabe in 2001 . Suzman 's family has said that there will be a private funeral this weekend , to be followed by a memorial service in February .
Apartheid foe Helen Suzman campaigned for release of Nelson Mandela . The South African leader was jailed in 1994 after being convicted on charges that he had ordered the murder of three black anti-apartheid activists. For more than a decade she was the only opposition member of parliament . Suzman 's family says that there will be a memorial service in February .