JIMMY CARTER, THE former US president who rose from humble beginnings to become a tireless campaigner for justice and human rights, has died at the age of 100.
Carter died at his home in Georgia this afternoon after nearly two years in hospice care. He had been diagnosed with cancer almost a decade ago in 2015.
Carter died “peacefully” at his home in Plains in Georgia, “surrounded by his family,” the Carter Centre said in a statement.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love,” Chip Carter, the former president’s son, said in the statement.
Carter was the oldest living ex-US president and the longest-living American president too.
Born in the small town of Plains in 1924, he joined the US Navy in 1943, graduating from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1946.
In the same year, he met and married his sister’s friend Rosalynn Smith.
In 1953, he returned to Plains following the death of his father to take over the family farm. In 1963, amid a background of racial tension and desegregation, Carter was elected to the State Senate.
Carter served the state of Georgia as a state Senator and then Governor before turning his attention to the national stage.
In 1976, he beat Gerald Ford, the Republican incumbent, in a hard-fought and bruising general election, to become the 39th President of the United States.
It’s not necessary to fear the prospect of failure but to be determined not to fail. – Jimmy Carter
However, he would never fully command the support of an America bitterly divided and sorely wounded after Vietnam and Watergate.
His presidency is best remembered, perhaps unfairly, for the Iran hostage crisis, which saw 52 Americans held in Tehran for 444 days following the Islamic Revolution.
Carter’s failure to secure their release, compounded by a failed military rescue attempt, would dog his presidency and scuttle his bid for a second term.
The hostages were only released once Ronald Reagan came to office after comprehensively beating Carter in the 1980 election. Carter’s performance in that election remains the worst by a sitting US President.
However, his tenure has been revisited in recent years and his reputation is much stronger today than it was when he left office.
I’ll never tell a lie. I’ll never make a misleading statement. I’ll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I’ll never avoid a controversial issue – Jimmy Carter
Reaching a peace deal between Israel and Egypt is now recognised as the zenith of his presidency and a major diplomatic achievement.
But it was his work after leaving the White House that was most widely praised.
He became extremely active as an ex-president, working as an elections monitor and lobbying for health campaigns via the Carter Center, which he founded in 1982.
He participated in election monitoring in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and East Timor, and in 2003 traveled to Cuba for a historic face-to-face meeting with longtime communist leader Fidel Castro.
He also met with all sides in the North of Ireland on a number of occasions.
He was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to promote social and economic justice.
In 2007, he joined Nelson Mandela in forming a group known as The Elders, a group of statesmen and women who hoped to help end world conflicts.
Written by Paul Hosford with reporting by AFP
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