IANS

Washington, Jul 6: Besides Abraham Lincoln, President Barack Obama looks up to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela as his heroes for bringing about transformative change without violence by changing people's minds and hearts.

"Abraham Lincoln is probably the President who I find most compelling because not only did he deal with probably the biggest crisis in American history, the Civil War, but he also did so in a way that was full of understanding of humanity," he told Russian state-run Rossiya TV and ITAR-TASS news agency.

"And his willingness to, I think, understand other people, from slaves to slave owners, and try to hold people together even when we were in the midst of war I think is extraordinary."

"Internationally - Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi. I always am interested in leaders who are able to bring about transformative change without resort to violence, but rather changing people's minds and people's hearts," Obama said.

The White House released a transcript of his interview on Sunday hours before Obama heads to Russia for his first trip as president.