Former US President Jimmy Carter has died
Jimmy Carter, the Georgia peanut farmer who rose to become the 39th U.S. president and later earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of human rights, has passed away at the age of 100.
"Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," The Carter Center announced in a statement on the social media platform X. The statement noted that Carter died peacefully, surrounded by his family.
A devout Christian who taught Sunday school for decades at his local Baptist church, Carter's faith-driven approach to politics was often seen as a remedy to the post-Watergate cynicism of the 1970s. His unexpected rise from the Georgia governor's office to the presidency reflected his appeal as an outsider and reformer.
Carter's presidency (1977–1981) was marked by significant challenges, including economic struggles and the Iranian Revolution, during which 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. The hostages were released only minutes after Ronald Reagan succeeded him as president.
Despite these difficulties, several achievements of Carter's administration gained recognition over time. Among them were the Camp David Accords, which facilitated peace between Egypt and Israel; the Panama Canal Treaty; and the SALT II Treaty with the Soviet Union, aimed at limiting strategic missile development. Carter also established formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China.
"Human Rights is the Soul of Our Foreign Policy"
Carter strongly emphasized human rights, famously stating in 1978, "Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood."
On the domestic front, his administration created the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. Carter championed fiscal responsibility by urging Democrats to address government spending while also advocating for increased Pentagon budgets—a controversial stance within his party but one later embraced by Democratic presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
A Nobel Peace Prize and Global Impact
After leaving the White House, Carter dedicated himself to diplomacy and humanitarian efforts, primarily through the Carter Center. His work included brokering ceasefires in conflict zones and monitoring elections in emerging democracies.
In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." In his acceptance speech, Carter urged world leaders to bridge "the growing chasm between the richest and the poorest people on Earth."
"The Man from Plains"
Carter's early life shaped his character and values. Born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, he experienced the hardships of the Great Depression, working on his family's peanut farm alongside Black sharecroppers. The family home lacked indoor plumbing and running water for much of his childhood.
Known as "The Man from Plains," Carter maintained a deep connection to his roots throughout his life. Plains, a small town about 200 kilometers south of Atlanta, remained a central part of his identity and the base for much of his work.