In tribute: Jimmy Carter, 39th U.S. president

Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from the southern state of Georgia who became president of the United States and remained prominent on the world stage, died on December 29. He was 100 years old.

During his 1977–1981 White House tenure, Carter promoted peace and liberal values. His post-presidency time — during which he advocated for the poor, for democracy and for human rights — is considered by many as important a part of his legacy as his presidency.

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.”

After his presidency, Carter’s often maverick approach to promoting peace included meetings with the leaders of many countries shunned by official Washington, including North Korea, Cuba and Nicaragua.

A post-Watergate president

Carter handily won the 1976 presidential election, running a well-organized campaign that drew on the public mistrust of Washington after the Watergate scandal that had forced President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974.

Known for his broad, toothy grin and a disarming frankness, the Democrat brought a new informality to the White House as the country recovered from the disruptions of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War years.

The Carters’ fourth child, Amy, just 9 years old, was the youngest guest ever to attend a state dinner. She created a stir when she pulled out two books and read during the formal toasts.

For two years, Carter oversaw an improving U.S. economy, but in the late 1970s an energy crisis hit the country, prompted by a big hike in the cost of imported oil. His presidency was ensnared in the ensuing economic crises and in the 1979 Iran hostage drama.

Early life

Born James Earl Carter Jr. on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, Carter, an introspective, hard-working man, built his life around his deep Christian faith and the lessons from his childhood in the racially divided American South. His closest partner throughout his life was his wife, Rosalynn, whom he married in 1946. Their marriage — which spanned 77 years — was the longest of any U.S. presidential couple’s in history. 

His father owned a peanut farm, and his mother was a registered nurse.

Carter studied at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and joined the U.S. Navy in 1946. After his father died in 1953, Carter left the service and returned to Georgia to run the family’s peanut business.

He entered state politics in 1962 and was an early supporter of the civil rights struggle.

On winning the governorship of Georgia in 1970, he declared: “The time of racial discrimination is over.” He promoted desegregation, expanding the number of Black Americans in state jobs, and honored assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., a fellow Georgian.

A figure on the world stage

As president, Carter established his reputation as an international peacemaker largely through his mediation of the 1978 Camp David Accords, which were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the White House in September 1978. The signing marked a breakthrough in Egyptian-Israeli relations and set the stage for subsequent Middle East peace negotiations.

Carter’s presidency played out against the constant tension of the Cold War and was jolted by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

A defining event of Carter’s presidency was the November 4, 1979, takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Iranian students, who seized 52 hostages.

Although he had promised not to take military action, Carter secretly ordered a rescue mission in April 1980. It ended with aircraft colliding and eight U.S. servicemen dying before reaching Iran, effectively dooming Carter’s chances of re-election in November that year. The hostages were released the day after his term ended on January 20, 1981.

After he left the White House, he established the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It sends teams around the world to monitor elections and draws attention to human rights violations at home and abroad.

Since its inception in 1982, the center has worked to eradicate the Guinea worm and establish health-care delivery systems in Africa, pioneered public health approaches in Africa and Latin America, improved mental health care, observed more than 100 elections in 39 countries, and promoted peace in many regions of the world.

Many modern ex-presidents take advantage of high-paid speaking engagements and other post-presidential opportunities. But, historian Michael Beschloss told the Washington Post newspaper, “Carter did the opposite.” While shunning lucrative opportunities, Carter and his wife regularly volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, a charity that builds houses for needy families.

Carter’s unassuming nature found expression in his religious faith as well. Following his return to his hometown of Plains in 1981, Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church. Each week, admirers from all over the world visited the church. Carter always greeted them and posed for photographs with them after class — because, as he often observed, “We’re all the same in God’s eye.”

Carter is survived by his four children — John (“Jack”), James (“Chip”), Donnel (“Jeff”) and Amy — plus 11 grandchildren (one grandson predeceased him) and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife, Rosalynn, died November 19, 2023. He will be buried on the grounds of his residence in Plains, Georgia.