The late former President Jimmy Carter
By Mark Duff
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, has died at the age of 100, barely one year after his wife, Rosalynn Carter, died aged 96, in November 2023.
Chip Carter, the son of the former president, in an official statement released through The Carter Centre, said their patriarch, who was surrounded by his family before his demise, died on Sunday, at his hometown, Plains, in Georgia, where he was born.
“He was 100, the longest-lived president in U.S. history.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.
“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,” Chip said.
The late Carter, a Democrat, became president when he defeated former president Gerald Ford in 1976.
The Georgia native served a single term as president and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
The final year of his administration was dominated by a hostage crisis in Iran, when 52 Americans were taken captive at the U.S. embassy in November 1979.
On the day he left office, 20 January 1981, the hostages were released.
Carter had continued negotiations behind the scenes, even after his election defeat.
In 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to avoid conflict around the world.
When his wife, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023, the former president went to the memorial service held in her honour in Atlanta, Georgia.
In February last year it was revealed he was receiving hospice care and would “spend his remaining time at home with his family”.
He had decided against “additional medical intervention” following a series of brief hospital stays, the Carter Centre said in a statement at the time.
