Former United States President Jimmy Carter died at his home on Sunday, his foundation the Carter Center announced. He was 100 years old.
A member of the Democratic Party, Carter became the 39th president of the US in January 1977.
He died nearly 22 months after entering hospice care. He had been suffering from melanoma, a type of skin cancer that had spread to his liver and brain.
Carter’s single-term presidency was defined by the 1978 Camp David Accords, which facilitated a historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
The agreement had two parts – a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel, and a framework for negotiations on Palestinian autonomy. However, the latter yielded little progress, according to Time magazine.
According to multinational analytics company Gallup, Carter is among one of only five US presidents – along with Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, George HW Bush and George W Bush – to have their approval ratings fall below 30%.
After leaving the White House, Carter gained recognition as a global humanitarian. Along with his wife Rosalyn Smith, he founded The Carter Center in 1982, positioning themselves as “international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights”.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden said the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”.
Carter survived his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, by a little more than a year. She passed away aged 96 in November 2023. He is survived by four children, Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy, and 11 grandchildren and 14 grandchildren.
‘The world is our family because of the way he brought people together’
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” said Chip Carter, the former president’s son, according to the Carter Center. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”
Weeks before Carter’s death, Jason, his grandson, said the former president was “experiencing the world as best he can” but was not awake every day