Jimmy Carter, the 39th and longest-lived U.S. President, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian work, died on Sunday at the age of 100 years after months in hospice care, according to his family.
The Democrat became president in January 1977 after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election.
Carter ran for re-election in 1980 but was kicked out of office in a landslide as voters embraced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. He was widely seen as a better former president than he was a president – a status he acknowledged.
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” his son Chip Carter said in a statement.
“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.”
Mr. Carter is survived by his children Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren, according to the Carter Center.
U.S. President Joe Biden directed that Jan. 9 will be a national day of mourning throughout the United States for Carter, the White House said in a statement.
“I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter,” Biden said.
World leaders and former U.S. presidents paid tribute to a man they praised as compassionate, humble and committed to peace in the Middle East.
Carter had experienced several health issues in recent years including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain, reports Reuters news agency.
He decided to receive hospice care in February 2023 instead of undergoing additional medical intervention. His wife, Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96.
Despite his difficulties in office, Carter gained global acclaim as a tireless human rights advocate, a voice for the disenfranchised and a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty, winning the respect that eluded him in the White House.
Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote human rights and resolve conflicts around the world, from Ethiopia and Eritrea to Bosnia and Haiti.
