Former US President Jimmy Carter dies at 100

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The former US president, Jimmy Carter, has died at age 100.

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His death was confirmed on Sunday by the Carter Center in a post made on X, formerly Twitter.

“Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the non-profit organisation, founded by the former president in 1980, wrote.

The centre disclosed that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.

The Carter Center also disclosed that he died 13 months after entering hospice care at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his late wife, Rosalynn, spent most of their lives.

His son, James E. Carter III, has also confirmed his death, according to The Washington Post.

In September 2023, Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, had told PEOPLE that the former president’s unexpectedly long time in hospice care had surprised the entire family, describing it as a “real blessing.”

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“This is an important part of his faith journey, and it’s one that you don’t get to experience at any other time in your life except for the very end,” Jason said. “And so in that way, I think this has been a really meaningful time for him, and it’s been a really reflective time for him.”

At age 100, Mr Carter was the longest-living American president. His wife, Rosalynn had died at 96 in November 2023.

Jimmy Carter’s presidency and service

He was a Nobel Peace Prize-winning president who transformed his legacy from a one-term commander-in-chief to humanitarian service. Mr Carter served as the 39th president of the United States between 1977 and 1981.

He was elected into the White House in 1976, in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the widespread unpopularity of President Gerald Ford’s decision to pardon his disgraced predecessor, Richard Nixon.

Before his election, the former president held several positions. He was a nuclear scientist, a Navy submariner, a peanut farmer, and community organiser. He also served as the Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967 and as governor from 1971 to 1975.

After defeating President Ford in the 1976 election, the Democrat became the first president from the Deep South since before the Civil War.

Mr Carter’s presidency was defined by economic instability, soaring gas prices, political unrest, racial tensions, and growing signs of America’s declining influence abroad. One of his most notable achievements was brokering a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, along with restoring full diplomatic relations with China.

However, he made several clumsy missteps in public relations that caused his approval ratings to sharply decline. One of such was the launch of a rescue mission for American hostages in Iran that ended in a fiasco. He also introduced a controversial boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

In 1980, Mr Carter lost his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan and transitioned to humanitarian service. He and his wife established The Carter Center to advance global peace and human rights.

He also brokered a nuclear nonproliferation agreement with North Korea, served as an unofficial US diplomat in conflict zones, and contributed to building affordable housing for low-income families domestically and internationally.

In 2002, Mr Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to peace, democracy, and human rights.

Mr Carter and Rosalynn are survived by four children: Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy Carter.