Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States of America, who clocked 100 years on October 1, 2024, is dead.
Carter was the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then turned to a global humanitarian.
The 39th president of the US and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient passed away in Plains, Georgia on Sunday.
The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives.
His death was announced in a terse statement from the Carter Center.
“Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.”
Also read: Carter becomes first US President to clock 100, sharing birth anniversary with Nigeria
Jimmy Carter, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a member of a Georgia farming family and served as a state senator and governor before defeating incumbent Gerald Ford in a close 1976 presidential election.
He served one term, from January 1977 to January 1981.
Joe Biden reacts
President Joe Biden has mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend.
Biden cited Carter’s work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections and house the homeless as an example for others.
“To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden spoke later Sunday evening about Carter, calling it a “sad day” but one that “brings back an incredible amount of good memories.”
He recalled the former president being a comfort to him and his wife Jill when their son Beau died in 2015 of cancer.
The president remarked how cancer was a common bond between their families, with Carter himself having cancer later in his life.
“Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well,” said Biden, who scheduled a state funeral in Washington, D.C., for Carter on Jan. 9.
Biden also declared Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning across the nation and ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.
