(AP)  President Barack Obama says the world has lost an influential, courageous and ‘profoundly good’ man with the death of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

Obama says Mandela “no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages.” Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95.

Speaking from the White House, Obama said he was one of the countless millions around the world who was influenced by Mandela.

Obama met with Mandela’s family earlier this year when he visited South Africa. But he did not meet with the ailing leader, who was hospitalized throughout the U.S. president’s visit.