The Democrat Carter left the White House in 1981, but remained very active even after his time as president. He worked on democracy issues, human rights, and against diseases through the Carter Center, which he founded in his home state of Georgia in 1982.
In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
In the White House, it was high politics, such as the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt at Camp David. Then I met world leaders and diplomats. Since then, I have met ordinary people and been able to understand their problems, said Carter to TT during a visit to Sweden in 2014.
Ran a peanut farm
Carter was born in the southern state of Georgia on October 1, 1924. Before becoming a politician, he was a commander on a nuclear-armed submarine.
When his father died, he returned home to Plains in Georgia to run the family's peanut farm. He became interested in politics and was elected governor of the state in 1971. His major efforts to integrate the black population into society contributed to his loss in the next gubernatorial election.
Instead, Carter surprisingly became elected president, with a narrow margin over Republican Gerald Ford. When he took office in 1977, he inherited a USA broken by the setbacks in Vietnam and the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Economic challenges
The gentle and deeply Christian Carter benefited from not having been active in the scandal-ridden Washington DC and was launched as a new force.
However, economic challenges soon piled up, with high inflation and unemployment. During his presidency, the concept of the misery index, the sum of unemployment and inflation, was coined.
The signing of the Camp David Agreement in 1978, where Egypt formally recognized the state of Israel, became Carter's greatest success as president.
But he faced resistance when he tried to launch human rights as a guiding principle. An example is the crisis in Iran, where Carter withdrew support for the Shah of Iran due to his oppression, which partly led to the Islamic Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini coming to power.
The US embassy in Tehran was occupied, and 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. They were released only hours after Carter's departure. The hostage crisis weighed heavily on the Democrat's final year in office and contributed to his not being re-elected in 1980.
Bob Dylan fan
Jimmy Carter had a burning musical interest. The young Carter appreciated the gospel he heard in the churches of Georgia. Later, he discovered Bob Dylan and was captivated by the lyrics; Carter wrote his own poetry.
At the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 2002, country icon and friend Willie Nelson performed "Georgia on my mind". Carter stood beside him, singing along.
In 2007, Carter was one of the founders of The Elders, a group of global leaders with Nelson Mandela at the helm, engaging in peace and human rights. Back home in Plains, he taught Sunday school.
By his side was always his wife Rosalynn Carter. When she passed away in November 2023, they had been married for over 77 years. The couple had four children.
In 2015, Carter was diagnosed with liver and brain cancer. He tackled his failing health with calm.
I am completely satisfied with whatever comes. I have had an exciting, adventurous, and joyful life, he said the same year.
Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100.
Democrat James Earl Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in the southern state of Georgia. Married Rosalynn Carter in 1946. The couple had four children.
Was a peanut farmer and commander of a nuclear-armed submarine before becoming governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.
President of the USA from 1977 to 1981. Won over Republican Gerald Ford, was defeated four years later by Republican Ronald Reagan.
Carter was behind the Camp David Agreement in 1978 on peace between Israel and Egypt.
Carter failed to resolve the hostage crisis in Iran, where American citizens were held hostage.
Carter sought to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union, which was interrupted by the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. The USA provided support to Muslim resistance movements in the country. Some of these became the breeding ground for the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
Founded the Carter Center in 1982, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for work on peace and democracy issues.
