Jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth President of the United States, died on December 29, 2024, at his home in Plains, Georgia, at age 100. He was preceded in death by Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years who died in 2023.
President Carter’s career in public service began in 1943 as a cadet at the United States Naval Academy. He later served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets before being selected to join the elite nuclear submarine program.
A Georgia native and Democrat, Carter was elected governor of his home state in 1970. He went on to run and win the 1976 presidential election, defeating the Republican incumbent Gerald Ford. Carter served one term before he lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, largely due to his inability to secure the release of 52 American hostages taken captive by Iranian Islamists.
A highlight of his presidency was the 1978 Camp David Accords, a historic peace treaty Carter helped broker between Israel and Egypt. The deal led to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.
Only 56 years old when he left the Oval Office, Carter would spend the next four decades focusing on humanitarian work for which he earned universal respect. For years, he and Roslynn could be found volunteering their time to build homes for the disadvantaged with the nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity. A dedicated, life-long Christian, Carter also faithfully taught Sunday school for decades at his home church in Plains.
Around the world, Carter was recognized after his presidency for promoting peaceful resolutions to conflict and advancing democracy and human rights, primarily through the Carter Center, which he and the former first lady established at Emory University in Atlanta in 1982. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote human rights and peace in places like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Bosnia, and Haiti.
President Joe Biden lauded former President Carter as “a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism. With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”
