Tutu, Desmond Mpilo 1931 - . South African priest. Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and general secretary of the South African Council of Churches 1979-84. One of the leading figures in the struggle against apartheid in the Republic of South Africa, he was awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. In Nov 1995 Tutu was named as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a commission set up June 1995 by Nelson Mandela to investigate abuses by both government and opposition groups during the apartheid era.