Former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, who led the United States between January 1977 and January 1981, spent his last months in palliative care due to his deteriorating health. He had survived cancer but in recent years received surgeries for falls.
Former US President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, who emphasized human rights, democratic values, nuclear proliferation and global poverty, died Sunday at age 100. reported the Carter Center.
The statement said that Carter, who was the 39th president of the United States and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, “died peacefully on Sunday, December 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family.”
Carter was the longest-serving former president in United States history. At 98 years old, he decided to enter home palliative care, after several hospitalizations. With his decision he hoped to “spend his remaining time at home with his family rather than additional medical intervention.”
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President Carter is survived by his children: Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rosalynn, and a grandson.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and selfless love,” said Chip Carter, the former president's son. “My brothers, my sister and I share it with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family for the way it brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live out these shared beliefs.”
The Carter Center reported that there will be public ceremonies in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., followed by a private burial in Plains, Georgia.
“Final preparations for President Carter's state funeral, including all public events and motorcade routes, are still pending,” said the text, which recommended visiting the official website honoring the life of President Carter at www.jimmycartertribute.org. This site includes the official online condolence book, as well as printed and visual biographical materials commemorating his life.
The Carter family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Carter Center, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA 30307.
During his term (1977-1981) Carter established the National Reports on Human Rights Practices, published annually by the White House since 1977.
The stellar moment of his administration, which lasted four years, was the signing of the Camp David accords in 1979, which put an end to the conflict between Israel and Egypt, and led him to win years later the Nobel Peace Prize.
Several world leaders praised Carter for his achievements. Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and apartheid survivor, said that Carter was always “a man of vision and determination who dedicated his life to making the world a better place for everyone.”
Along the same lines, Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, referred to the former president as a leader “admired throughout the world for his dedication to peace and justice.”
Carter was born in 1924 in Plains, a town in the southern state of Georgia that currently has about 700 inhabitants. From a humble family, his father was a farmer and local public official, while his mother was a volunteer in the famous American “Peace Corps”, a volunteer corps.
During his childhood and adolescence, the 39th president of the United States grew up working in the fields, helping his father, as a peanut farmer. He went to public high school and then attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, before being accepted into the United States Naval Academy in 1943.
Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946 with distinction, after which he was assigned to USS Wyoming (E-AG 17) as an ensign. After completing two years of service on surface ships, Carter requested submarine service. He served as executive officer, engineering officer, and electronic repair officer on the submarine.
In 1946, he married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, his sister's best friend. The Carters had four children: John William, James Earl III, Donnel Jeffrey, and Amy Lynn.
Political career in Georgia
Before reaching the White House, Carter served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967. In 1971, he won the state elections and became governor of that state. Despite that role, his figure was little known nationally when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
His candidacy was based on the fact that Washington needed a leader that the population could trust after the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War.
Finally, he ran against Republican Gerald Ford and won in a very close vote, with Carter winning 50% of the popular votes and 297 of 538 electoral votes.
Already as president, Carter tried to portray himself as what he was: a man of the people, dressing informally and adopting a popular speaking style. During Carter's time as president, the popularity of sweaters increased as they were his preference when it came to fashion; he preferred comfort over etiquette.
Beyond the peace measures he promoted from the Oval Office, he also introduced a series of ambitious programs for social and economic reform, and included a relatively large number of women and minorities in his cabinet, an unusual move at the end of the decade. 1970s.
Despite these qualities, Carter has been criticized for failing to address the problems facing the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s, partly because of his tendency toward micromanagement.
Experts say the main reason Carter failed to win the 1980 election was his weak handling of the Iran hostage crisis. This crisis lasted throughout the election year and many considered that Carter had not been able to manage this problem.
After his stay in the White House, the former president founded the Carter Center, an organization to continue his legacy and which was born with a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering.