Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100
Incoming US President Donald Trump has paid tribute to Jimmy Carter, the longest-living president in US history, who has died at the age of 100.
United States
Don't miss out on the headlines from United States. Followed categories will be added to My News.
US President-elect Donald Trump said the nation owes former President Jimmy Carter “a debt of gratitude.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the 39th president, who died Sunday at the age of 100, served the nation during a crucial time.
“Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” he wrote.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
In his message, Mr Trump said, “Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
In a follow-up post, Mr Trump said that “while I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realised that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for.”
“He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect. He was a truly good man and, of course, will be greatly missed,” Mr Trump continued.
“He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office.”
Before his death, Mr Carter was not expected to attend Mr Trump’s inauguration on January 20 because the Democrat was too frail to travel to the DC ceremony.
Meanwhile, America’s former presidents have offered condolences to Jimmy Carter’s family after the 39th commander-in-chief died at the age of 100.
His death follows the passing of his wife Rosalynn, who died on November 19, 2023, aged 96, after a battle with dementia.
Mr Carter’s death was confirmed to The Washington Post by his son, Chip Carter, who said the former US president died at his home in Plains, Georgia.
The one-time peanut farmer from Georgia, who was president between 1976 and 1980, will be remembered for healing America after the upheavals of Watergate, and for brokering a landmark peace deal between Israel and Egypt.
In a brief but warm tribute, US President Joe Biden told reporters that Mr Carter had “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds”.
Mr Biden, who is visiting the Caribbean island of St Croix in what will be his final holiday as US President, told reporters Mr Carter represented “an example of ... simple decency.”
In an earlier written statement, Mr Biden called the former US president “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”.
“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,” Mr Biden wrote.
“He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe. He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism. We will always cherish seeing him and Rosalynn together.
“The love shared between Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter is the definition of partnership and their humble leadership is the definition of patriotism,” the president said.
Mr Biden said he would order a state funeral for Mr Carter to be held for the former president, Georgia governor and US Navy veteran in Washington, DC.
“To the entire Carter family, we send our gratitude for sharing them with America and the world,” the US President wrote.
“To their staff – from the earliest days to the final ones – we have no doubt that you will continue to do the good works that carry on their legacy.”
In his tribute, US President-elect Donald Trump said the world owed Mr Carter “a debt of gratitude”.
“Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Mr Trump said.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” he added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Carter gave a century of “noble service to the country he loved, to the cause of peace and to the lives of people in need all around the world”.
“Our world is better a place for Jimmy Carter’s life and work,” he said. “May he rest in eternal peace.”
The Prime Minister said Mr Carter “rose from humble beginnings to leave a remarkable legacy”.
“Beyond being elected to the Presidency or being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Jimmy Carter’s legacy is best measured in lives changed, saved and uplifted,” he said.
“People living free from debilitating disease because of the work of The Carter Centre.
“People with a safe home to call their own, thanks to all those he inspired to contribute to Habitat for Humanity.
“People spared the toll of conflict because of his tireless efforts as a negotiator.”
FORMER US PRESIDENTS PAY TRIBUTE
In their statement, Bill and Hillary Clinton praised Mr Carter for his efforts for “a better, fairer world.”
“Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life,” the two said in a statement.
“Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others— until the very end.”
The Clintons met Mr Carter in 1975 and were “proud, early supporters of his Presidential campaign,” they said in their statement.
Bill Clinton said he was proud to have presented Mr Carter, and his wife Rosalynn, with the Medal of Freedom in 1999.
Former US president Barack Obama hailed Mr Carter’s fundamental decency, saying he made the world a better place.
“Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did — advocating for the public good, consequences be damned,” Mr Obama said in a statement.
“He believed some things were more important than re-election — things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image.
“Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.
“In his Nobel acceptance speech, President Carter said, ‘God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.’
“He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it.”
Former US president George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, joined their fellow citizens in giving thanks for Mr Carter.
“James Earl Carter, Jr., was a man of deeply held convictions,” Mr Bush said in a statement. “He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office.
“And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency. His work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Centre set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations.”
Mr Carter has been in ailing health for several years, taking two falls in 2019 which later required an operation to relieve pressure on his brain.
In February 2023 it was announced he was receiving hospice care.
‘AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL’
Although Mr Carter never visited Australia while president, he hosted then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser for a state visit in Washington DC in January 1979, where the two discussed economic and security issues, including the USA’s recent recognition of China. (Australia had done so in 1972.)
Bruce Wolpe, senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, described the 39th president as “an American original who tried his best to heal the country at a special time”.
“Carter was the anti-Nixon; a small state governor, a very religious man, a man who was known for telling the truth, who was dedicated to healing, and who believed in truth in leadership.”
Mr Carter and wife Rosalynn were “simple folks, not taken with the trappings of power,” Mr Wolpe said.
“People saw a very humble man who never sought fame or wealth; someone who was as American as they come,” he said.
“Ultimately his was a failed presidency because he was not re-elected, but his reputation after the White House only grew, because of how he conducted himself, with great dignity.”
“Carter committed himself to advancing peace, and applied himself to solving political and humanitarian problems, and people respected what he did,” Mr Wolpe said.
Mr Carter served just one term as president – a comparative rarity in recent US politics – because of a confluence of factors.
“The economy got out of control, inflation was out of control, interest rates were in the high teens, and mortgages were just insane,” Mr Wolpe said.
The Middle East oil embargo, which sent petrol prices sky high, and the “colossal failure” of the Iranian hostage crisis – in which 52 US diplomats and citizens were held captive in Tehran for over a year – “weighed heavily on the American spirit,” and helped limit Carter’s tenure in the White House, he added.
Criticisms of Mr Carter grew throughout his administration, eventually leading to a challenge from Edward (Ted) Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic nomination for the presidency.
“Democrats became disaffected with Carter, and many backed Ted Kennedy in the 1980 primary,” Mr Wolpe explained. “That proved fatal to Carter; he was severely weakened by that challenge. It cost the Democrats the White House after one term in office.”
Were it not for Ted Kennedy’s challenge, Mr Wolpe said he believes Mr Carter could have beaten Ronald Reagan in 1980.
While Mr Carter’s Middle East peace deal is remembered as one of the key achievements of his presidency, his administration’s recognition of Beijing represented a significant shift in US policy in the Asia/Pacific after the Vietnam War.
“It was a huge strategic reorientation for the US, and incredibly controversial, but most key thinkers thought it was correct and long overdue,” Mr Wolpe said.
ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, and is regularly cited as the first US president to have been born in a hospital.
Prior to his political career he served in the US Navy, during which time he also met and married Rosalynn Smith. The couple went on to have four children.
Mr Carter inherited his father’s peanut farm in Plains, Georgia in 1953, the fortunes of which he was able to turn around within a couple of seasons.
He went on represent Georgia in the US Senate between 1963 and 1967 and was the state’s governor between 1971 and 1975.
He was seen as a rank outsider in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination for the 1976 election, despite being the first candidate to put himself forward for the position.
He won a narrow victory over Gerald Ford to clinch the presidency.
LIFE AFTER POLITICS
Although Mr Carter was initially mooted as a potential Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1984, he declined to run in favour of his former vice president, Walter Mondale, who would go on to lose against Ronald Reagan.
Mr Carter created the Carter Centre in 1982, an organisation promoting world peace, and went on to build a reputation for himself as one of America’s leading humanitarians.
He received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002.
Upon his 100th birthday in October 2024, US President Joe Biden described him as “a moral force for our nation and the world”.
Mr Carter was also active in the charity Habitat for Humanity, and in October 2019 he was photographed helping to build a house for the charity, despite being 95 years old, and recovering from a nasty fall that had left him with a bruised face. For many, the image was a reminder of his fundamental decency, and generosity of spirit.
He remained a vital voice in American politics up until his final years, penning an essay for The New York Times on the one-year anniversary of the January 2021 storming of the US Capitol Building.
“Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss,” he wrote. “Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy.”
Although his health in later years had been fair, there were increased concerns for his welfare in November 2019 when he suffered a bad fall, fracturing his pelvis.
Mr Carter is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Join the conversation
New pics of doomed DC plane’s wreckage released
All “major pieces” from the midair crash between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter, which killed 67 people, have been recovered as an investigation into the tragedy continues.
Read more
Trump’s historic Super Bowl visit ‘political’
Donald Trump will make history when he becomes the first sitting US President to attend the Super Bowl but he brings with him decades of baggage, and not all of it friendly.
Read more