Former US President Jimmy Carter Dies at 100 Years Old

By
Chew Ming Hui
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Former US President Jimmy Carter has just passed away at the age of 100.

Since news of his death broke, many have paid tribute and praised the former president for all that he has accomplished in his lifetime.

Former US President Jimmy Carter Dies at 100 Years Old; Other US Presidents Pay Tribute

On Sunday (29 December), former US President Jimmy Carter died in his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100. He lived longer than any US president in history.

Image: The Carter Center

Many have since paid tribute to the 39th US President.

For one, Joe Biden shared in a White House statement: “Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian.”

President-elect Donald Trump also shared that Americans owed Carter “a debt of gratitude”. He added that Carter did everything in his power to improve Americans’ lives.

Several former US Presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, also praised Carter’s legacy.

“President Carter lived to serve others—until the very end,” Bill Clinton and Hilary Clinton said in a statement on X.

George W. Bush said in a statement: “He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country.”

On X, Barack Obama also shared that Carter had “taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service”.

But US presidents weren’t the only ones paying tribute to Carter. Even the leaders of other nations did too.

For one, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shared that Carter’s work during his presidency, as well as his subsequent humanitarian work, “exemplifies a lofty standard of love, peace, and brotherhood”.

It seems like most had a lovely impression of Carter lah.

An official state funeral is to be held in Washington DC, although final arrangements are still pending.

Carter’s Journey to Becoming President

If you weren’t a great history student, you probably don’t know much about former US President Jimmy Carter.

But fret not — we’re here to give you a summary of what you need to know about his legacy, so you can pretend to be informed when your friends talk to you about this.

Carter was born on 1 October 1924 in Plains, Georgia. And contrary to what you may believe, Carter wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth — he was one of four children of a farmer and a shopkeeper.

Fast forward to 22 years later, in 1946, Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy. He later left the nuclear submarine programme he was serving in, so that he could manage his family’s peanut farming business.

Subsequently, Carter got his “rags to riches” story. He became a millionaire and a Georgia state legislator. Then, from 1971 to 1975, he served as Georgia’s governor.

Two years later, in January 1977, Carter was sworn in as the 39th US President, after he defeated Gerald Ford in the 1976  presidential elections.

Brokering Peace Between Israel and Egypt

So, what did Carter accomplish during his time in office from 1977 to 1980? The answer is well, a lot. But perhaps the most important thing he did was brokering peace between Israel and Egypt.

If you’ve ever read up on the history of the Middle East, you’ve probably stumbled upon the 1978 Camp David accords before.

But if this is your first time hearing about it, here’s what it is. The 1978 Camp David accords was essentially a framework for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The Egypt-Israel peace treaty was eventually signed in 1979.

Carter had a large part to play in creating the opportunity for the Camp David accords and the eventual peace treaty to be signed, with the Camp David accords being viewed as possibly Carter’s greatest foreign policy achievement.

Continued Carrying Out Humanitarian Work

Even after Carter left office, he continued dedicating his time to humanitarian causes.

In 1982, Carter and his wife co-founded The Carter Center — a non-profit organisation with a mission to resolve conflicts, protect human rights and prevent disease globally.

From peace programmes to a slew of health programmes, the Carter Center has it all.

The former US President also played a key role in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks in 1994, as well as in other negotiations and mediations. For instance, Carter negotiated a tentative ceasefire in Bosnia in 1994 and mediated a ceasefire in Sudan in 1995.

A very stacked CV, indeed. 

With all the humanitarian causes he championed, it’s no wonder he was awarded the UN Human Rights Prize in 1998 lah — a prize which the likes of Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King were also awarded.

Carter also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, in recognition of his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”.

So, if someone now asks you about the 39th US President, you know what to say about his legacy lah, hor?

If you watch at least 10 minutes of brain rot content daily, you must know this:

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Chew Ming Hui
Email: [email protected]