Former President Jimmy Carter dies at 100

Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.

His son confirmed his passing, stating he peacefully passed on Sunday, Dec. 28, at his home in Plains, Georgia.

Statement on Jimmy Carter’s passing

“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, in a Carter Center statement.

“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.”

The Carter Center announced on Feb. 18, 2023, that the former president had begun receiving hospice care after a series of short hospital stays, choosing to “spend his remaining time at home with his family” instead of receiving additional medical intervention.

Former President Jimmy Carter’s Political career

Carter is the longest-lived former president in our nation’s history.

He was 52 when he entered the Oval Office as the 39th president of the United States serving from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981.

A few major foreign relations accomplishments of his administration included bringing peace to the Middle East through the Camp David Agreement of 1978, ending the 29-year state of war between Egypt and Israel. He also broke ties with Taiwan and reopened diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

The administration’s achievements also included a comprehensive energy program by the Department of Energy, deregulation in energy, major educational programs under a new Department of Education and major environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for 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.”

“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children,” Carter said in his Nobel acceptance speech.

Life

James Earl Carter, Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia.

Carter attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946.

Surviving the former president are his children Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Smith Carter, died Nov. 19, 2023, at 96 years old.