Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. Though he served only one term in office, he went on to a distinguished second act of humanitarian work, and he lived long enough to become the oldest former president in U.S. history. Carter “died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family,” the Carter Center announced in a statement.
“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 statement provided by the Carter Center. “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.” There will be public observances in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., followed by a private interment in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center said.
In a proclamation Sunday night, President Joe Biden declared January 9 a national day of mourning for Carter and ordered that flags at federal facilities be flown as half-staff for 30 days. President Biden said former President Jimmy Carter was “a man of character, courage, and compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as one of the most influential statesmen in our history. He embodied the very best of America: A humble servant of God and the people. A heroic champion of global peace and human rights, and an honorable leader whose moral clarity and hopeful vision lifted our Nation and changed our world.” In televised remarks Sunday evening, Biden said Carter “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds.” “We would all do well to be a little more like Jimmy Carter,” the president said.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s death over the weekend elicited responses from several other prominent figures, including two statements from President-elect Donald Trump. rump commented on the passing of President Carter in two Truth Social posts. “I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. 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,” Trump’s initial Truth Social post 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.” Trump’s post also said he and his wife, Melania, 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,” the 45th president’s post said.
An hour after President-elect Donald Trump’s initial statement, he shared another post on Truth Social saying, “President Jimmy Carter is dead at 100 years of age. While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized 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,” his post continued. “He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office. Warmest condolences from Melania and I to his wonderful family!”
Former President Jimmy Carter had been receiving hospice care at his home for nearly two years following a series of short hospital stays. The Carter Center said in February 2023 that he had “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.” Carter remained active well into his 90s, continuing his work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center and teaching Sunday school at his church in Plains, Georgia, even as his health began to falter. “He really never forgot where he came from and that’s why he went back to Plains,” Stuart E. Eizenstat, Carter’s chief White House domestic policy adviser, said in an interview.
Both in and out of office, Former President Jimmy Carter built a legacy as a tireless champion for peace and humanitarian causes. He brokered the landmark Camp David Accords in 1978, establishing a framework for peace in the Middle East, and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of work in advancing international peace, democracy, and human rights. “I think that he won a Nobel Peace Prize, which represents for him all of the work he did at stopping civil wars around the world, of monitoring free and fair elections, combatting river blindness, guinea worm disease, tuberculosis, leprosy, you name it,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “It’s interesting, Carter as ex-president wanted to destroy a disease. He wasn’t somebody who was going into cancer research and finding new ways and more improved technology. He just wanted to wipe it out.”
While Former President Jimmy Carter had his share of accomplishments as president, his time in the White House, from 1977 to 1981, was tumultuous. His one term in office included the US energy shortage and the Iran hostage crisis. Carter rose on the national stage after Watergate, at a time when voters were looking for a change in politics. “They didn’t want Ed Muskie or Hubert Humphrey or Scoop Jackson or George Wallace,” Douglas Brinkley said. “They were tired of those people that had been in the national spotlight for so long. So, he came at America as a fresh new face.”
Jimmy Carter was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains. The son of a peanut farmer, he loved books and his Baptist faith. At the US Naval Academy, he studied nuclear science and graduated with distinction in 1946. That same year, he married a young woman named Rosalynn Smith, a marriage that would last for more than seven decades. They celebrated their 77th anniversary on July 7, 2023, the longest-married presidential couple in American history. She died months later, on November 19, 2023, at age 96. Carter completed submarine training and served in the Navy for seven years before moving home to Georgia in 1953 to run the family peanut farm. He and Rosalynn raised four children while his career focus shifted from farming to politics. After eight years in state offices, Carter, a Democrat, was elected governor of Georgia in 1970. It was clear he was a new kind of Southern leader, one who emphasized racial equality and traditional values, at a time when the nation was in need of stability.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter defeated President Gerald Ford to become the 39th president of the United States. The Carters conveyed that they were of the people when they marched in the open air on the inaugural parade route. “His greatest asset as a candidate was his outsider status,” Brinkley said. “And his greatest failing as a president was the fact that he remained an outsider, when you must be an insider in Washington if you’re going to be an effective president.” Carter struggled to cultivate relationships in Washington and feuded openly with Democratic leaders in Congress. As oil prices and inflation soared, his popularity sank.
Despite this, there were some major accomplishments under the Carter Administration. President Jimmy Carter created the Departments of Energy and Education. He established formal diplomatic ties with China and returned control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. Perhaps his greatest achievement was a historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, known as the Camp David Accords. “Let history record that deep and ancient antagonism can be settled without bloodshed and without a staggering waste of precious lives,” Carter said at the signing of the peace treaty on March 26, 1979.
Arguably the defining moment of the Carter Administration that sealed its fate in many ways was the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 and its aftermath. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, had been a reliable US ally since the 1953 Iranian coup d’état. During the years after the coup, the US lavished aid on Iran (most of which was sent to Iran during the Johnson and Nixon Administrations, while Iran served as a dependable source of oil exports. In turn, the US turned a blind eye to many of the human rights abuses committed by the Pahlavi regime such as restrictions on the press, the arrest and torture of political opponents (up to 3,700 political prisoners in 1975, the peak year of political repression under the Pahlavi government), limits on political freedom, and the execution of up to 100 political prisoners.
President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski viewed Iran as a key Cold War ally, not only for the oil it produced but also because of its influence in OPEC and its strategic position between the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. Despite his criticism of the human rights violations carried out by the Pahlavi government, Carter visited Iran in late 1977 and authorized the sale of US fighter aircraft. A month later in January 1978, rioting broke out in several cities, and it soon spread across the country. Poor economic conditions, the unpopularity of Pahlavi’s “White Revolution”, and an Islamic revival all led to increasing anger among Iranians, many of whom also despised the United States for its support of the Pahlavi regime and its role in the 1953 coup.
By the summer of 1978, the Iranian Revolution had broken out against Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s rule and his overthrow seemed inevitable. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance argued that the Shah should institute a series of reforms to appease the voices of discontent, while National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski argued in favor of a crackdown on dissent. The mixed messages that the Shah received from Vance and Brzezinski contributed to his confusion and indecision. The Shah went into exile in January 1979, leaving a caretaker government in control. A popular religious figure, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile in February 1979 to popular acclaim, thus proclaiming Iran as an Islamic Republic. As the unrest continued, President Jimmy Carter allowed Pahlavi into the United States for medical treatment. Carter and Vance were both initially reluctant to admit Pahlavi due to concerns about the reaction in Iran, but Iranian leaders assured them that it would not cause an issue. In November 1979, shortly after Pahlavi was allowed to enter the US, a group of Iranians stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 American captives, beginning the Iran hostage crisis.
The crisis quickly became the subject of international and domestic attention, and President Jimmy Carter vowed to secure the release of the hostages. He refused the Iranian demand for the return of Pahlavi in exchange for the release of the hostages. His approval ratings rose as Americans rallied around his response, but the crisis became increasingly problematic for his administration as it continued. In an attempt to rescue the hostages, Carter launched Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980. The operation was a total disaster, and it ended in the death of eight American soldiers. The failure of the operation strengthened Ayatollah Khomenei’s position in Iran and badly damaged Carter’s domestic standing. The crisis dominated Carter’s reelection campaign, while the economy continued to struggle and inflation topped 18%. In the final days of his administration, the president and his team negotiated freedom for the hostages. They were released on Ronald Reagan’s Inauguration Day.
In the years after leaving the White House, the Carters established The Carter Center in Atlanta, with a mission to work toward advancing peace and global health. “We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must,” Jimmy Carter said in 2002 as he formally accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of humanitarian work. He and Rosalynn built houses with Habitat for Humanity, dedicating their efforts to the group for more than 30 years, and he penned more than 20 books.
Jimmy Carter sparked controversy with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” in which he characterized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as oppression. He later issued an open apology to the Jewish community, saying that suggestions for improvement should not stigmatize Israel.
Jimmy Carter announced in August 2015 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, a form of melanoma that had spread to his liver and his brain. Though he curtailed his activities with The Carter Center, he continued to fundraise for the organization and also continued teaching Sunday school classes in Plains, a tradition he started in his teens. Carter was treated with a new immunotherapy drug and made a remarkable recovery, sharing the news six months later that an MRI showed no signs of cancer. In May 2019, he suffered another health setback, falling and breaking his hip. He went home from the hospital to recover and was soon back to teaching his Sunday school class. Carter suffered two more falls in October 2019 and was hospitalized for a fractured pelvis. A month later, he was admitted to a hospital in Atlanta for a surgical procedure to relieve pressure on his brain. The Carter Center said in May 2023 that Rosalynn had been diagnosed with dementia; she continued to live at home with her husband until her death that November.
During his many years after the White House, Jimmy Carter planted seeds of peace, and sometimes seeds of controversy. But as one of the most active former presidents in history, many believe he defined the role for those who would follow.