Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100. Before his death, the impressive Centenarian was the oldest living former US president.
Tributes have flooded in for the Democratic Party politician from across the political divide, with global figures such as Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and King Charles honouring the “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”.
Although the former President commanded widespread respect, his political career was less popular. Carter entered politics after a short career as a submariner in the US navy, and a subsequent spell running his family’s peanut farm.
The Georgia-born politician was elected to the White House in 1976, but was ousted after just one term as he struggled to navigate international crises or compete with Ronald Reagan’s rival vision for America.
When he left office, Carter had one of the lowest approval ratings of any US President. After his humiliating defeat, few expected the politician to continue his public service. But Carter worked tirelessly to use his influence for good as an advocate for the environment and human rights, earning his reputation as the “best former president America ever had”.
Jimmy Carter on his peanut farm in 1976.
(Image: PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
So how did the former president win fans across the globe, and what legacy does he leave behind?
International diplomacy
In 1994, Carter embarked on a peace mission to North Korea on behalf of the US Government. The communist country had announced its plans to withdraw from an international nuclear peace treaty, prompting America to prepare for war in retaliation.
But Carter convinced North Korea’s leader, Kim Il Sung, to allow nuclear inspectors to stay in the country, and kicked off negotiations that ultimately led to North Korea freezing its weapons program.
Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn crossed the border into North Korea in 1994 as part of a four-day diplomatic mission
(Image: CHOO YOUN-KONG/AFP via Getty Images)
He continued his diplomatic work by encouraging Haiti’s brutal military regime to step down, and so preventing the US from invading. Just three months later, Carter brokered a four-month winter ceasefire between Serbs and Bosnian Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1999 the former President even helped to end a proxy war between Uganda and Sudan.
Health and welfare campaigning
Carter also championed global health initiatives, working to tackle overlooked but devastating tropical diseases in developing countries. Through his work, Carter virtually eliminated the guinea worm, a painful parasite that affected 3.6million people when he first took on the issue in 1986.
For decades, Carter also spent a week a year building homes for the poor with the Georgia-based charity Habitat for Humanity. Together with his family, Carter helped to build or renovate about 4,300 homes in 14 countries.
Carter and his wife Rosalyn built countless homes as part of Habitat for Humanity
(Image: Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)
Nobel Peace Prize
Thanks to these efforts, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He was the third US President to receive the honour after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson – and the only one to earn it for his post-presidency work.
When Carter was given the prize, officials paid tribute to his “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development’’.
Gunnar Berge, a member of the Nobel committee, added: “Jimmy Carter will probably not go down in American history as the most effective President. But he is certainly the best ex-President the country ever had.”
OSLO, NORWAY – DECEMBER 10: Former US President Jimmy Carter holds up his Nobel Peace Prize December 10, 2002 in Oslo, Norway. Carter was recognized for many years of public service and urged others to work for peace during his acceptance speech. (Photo by Arne Knudsen/Getty Images)
Global tributes
Tributes to the former President have poured in from across the globe, as other statesmen recognise Carter’s outspoken and non-partisan humanitarian record.
King Charles paid tribute to the “committed public servant”, adding that “his dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many”. Meanwhile, Bill and Hilary Clinton honoured Carter’s “post-presidential efforts at the Carter Center supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy.”
Former presidents and international statesmen have lined up to pay their respects to Carter, pictured far right
(Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Barack Obama celebrated the “longest, and most impactful, post-presidency in American history”, while Trump said that Carter “did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans”.
Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s former ambassador to the US, highlighted Carter’s role in advocating for human rights in Palestine. He said that Carter would be “remembered by the Palestinian people as the first US president to advocate for the freedom of Palestine and the first to warn about Israeli apartheid”.
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