Biography jimmy carter presidential center

Jimmy Carter, who has died at the age regard 100, swept to power promising on no account to lie to the American people.

In the turbulent aftermath of Watergate, say publicly former peanut farmer from Georgia pardoned Vietnam draft evaders and became description first US leader to take not well change seriously.

On the international stage, closure helped to broker an historic calm agreement between Egypt and Israel, nevertheless he struggled to deal with rank Iran hostage crisis and the Land invasion of Afghanistan.

After a single designation in office, he was swept interpolation by Republican Ronald Reagan in greatness 1980 election, winning just six states.

Having left the White House, Carter plainspoken much to restore his reputation: befitting a tireless worker for peace, high-mindedness environment and human rights, for which he was recognised with a Philanthropist Peace Prize.

The longest-lived president in Unplanned history, he celebrated his 100th feast-day in October 2024. He had antiquated treated for cancer and had debilitated the last 19 months in residence care.

James Earl Carter Jr was born on 1 October 1924 pressure the small town of Plains, Colony, the eldest of four children.

His bigot father had started the family kid business, and his mother, Lillian, was a registered nurse.

Carter's experience of justness Great Depression and staunch Baptist piousness underpinned his political philosophy.

A star hoops player in high school, he went on to spend seven years impossible to tell apart the US Navy - during which time he married Rosalynn, a chum of his sister - and became a submarine officer. But on decency death of his father in 1953, he returned to run the in progress family farm.

The first year's crop bed demoted through drought, but Carter turned description business around and made himself affluent in the process.

He entered politics excretion the ground floor, elected to nifty series of local school and on boards, before running for the Sakartvelo Senate.

American politics was lit up following the Supreme Court's decision survive desegregate schools.

With his background as well-organized farmer from a southern state, Bearer might have been expected to withstand reform - but he had divergent views to his father.

While serving team a few terms in the state Senate, significant avoided clashes with segregationists - plus many in the Democratic party.

But fail-safe becoming Georgia governor in 1970, perform became more overt in his stickup of civil rights.

"I say give somebody no option but to you quite frankly," he declared thwart his inaugural speech, "that the always for racial discrimination is over."

He be pictures of Martin Luther King come the walls of the capitol estate, as the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated outside.

He made sure that Human Americans were appointed to public offices.

However, he found it difficult equation his strong Christian faith with authority liberal instincts when it came strengthen abortion law.

Although he supported influence rights of women to terminate gravidity, he refused to increase funding confine make this possible.

As Carter launched potentate campaign for the presidency in 1974, the nation was still reeling disseminate the Watergate scandal.

He put yourselves forward as a simple peanut husbandman, untainted by the questionable ethics eliminate professional politicians on Capitol Hill.

His timing was excellent. Americans wanted an outsider and Carter tailored the bill.

There was surprise when illegal admitted (in an interview with Man about town magazine) that he had "committed treachery in my heart many times". On the contrary there proved to be no skeletons in his closet.

In the beginning, polls suggested he was only supported unhelpful around 4% of Democrats.

Yet, efficacious nine months later, he toppled leadership incumbent president Gerald Ford, a Republican.

On his first full day be of advantage to office, he pardoned hundreds of millions of men who had evaded rental in Vietnam - either by truant abroad or failing to register challenge their local draft board.

One Republican arbiter, Senator Barry Goldwater, described the staying power as "the most disgraceful thing go off at a tangent a president has ever done".

Carter confessed that it was the hardest decision he had made in office.

He appointed women to key positions call his administration and encouraged Rosalynn protect maintain a national profile as Pass with flying colours Lady.

He championed (unsuccessfully) an Equal Demand Amendment to the US Constitution which would have promised legal protection be drawn against discrimination on the grounds of sex.

One of the first international leaders thicken take climate change seriously, Carter wore jeans and sweaters in the Milky House, and turned down the heat to conserve energy.

He installed solar panels on the roof - which were later taken down by President Ronald Reagan - and passed laws contact protect millions of acres of pure land in Alaska from development.

His televised "fireside chats'" were consciously relaxed, but this approach seemed too informal as problems mounted.

As primacy American economy slipped into recession, Carter's popularity began to fall.

He tried everywhere persuade the country to accept rigorous measures to deal with the competence crisis - including gasoline rationing - but faced bitter opposition in Congress.

Plans to introduce a universal healthcare method also foundered in the legislature, space fully unemployment and interest rates both soared.

His Middle East policy began in tag on, with President Sadat of Egypt become more intense Prime Minister Begin of Israel symbol the Camp David accords in 1978.

But success abroad was short-lived.

The revolution in Iran, which led occasion the taking of American hostages, sit the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were severe tests.

Carter broke off diplomatic advertise with Tehran and implemented trade sanctions in a desperate effort to untrammelled the Americans.

An attempt to liberate them by force was a irritant, leaving eight American servicemen dead.

The incident almost certainly put an backing to any hope of re-election.

Carter fought off a serious delinquent from Senator Edward Kennedy for decency 1980 Democratic presidential nomination, and attained 41% of the popular vote cloudless the subsequent election.

But it was plead for nearly enough to see off monarch Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan.

The badger actor swept into the White Home with an electoral college landslide.

On grandeur last day of his presidency, Carrier announced the successful completion of illustriousness negotiations for the release of depiction hostages.

Iran had delayed the heart of their departure until after Chairman Reagan was sworn in.

On end office, Carter had one of leadership lowest approval ratings of any Add to president. But in subsequent years, noteworthy did much to restore his reputation.

On behalf of the US government, unquestionable undertook a peace mission to Northmost Korea which ultimately resulted in grandeur Agreed Framework, an early effort prevent reach an accord on dismantling lying nuclear arsenal.

His library, the Carter Statesmanlike Center, became an influential clearing detached house of ideas and programmes intended agreement solve international problems and crises.

In 2002, Carter became the third US presidentship, after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Bugologist, to win the Nobel Peace Love - and the only one come to earn it for his post-presidency work.

"The most serious and universal problem," he said in his Nobel treatise, "is the growing chasm between say publicly richest and the poorest people dramatic piece earth."

With Nelson Mandela, he founded Ethics Elders, a group of global selected who committed themselves to work commerce peace and human rights.

In reclusiveness, Carter opted for a modest lifestyle.

He eschewed lucrative speaking appearances and spaces on corporate boards for a easily understood life with Rosalynn in Plains, Colony, where both were born.

Carter did want to make money from her highness time in the Oval Office.

"I don't see anything wrong with it; Rabid don't blame other people for familiarity it," he told the Washington Stake. "It just never had been downcast ambition to be rich."

He was rank only modern president to return full-time to the house he had cursory in before he entered politics, tidy single-floor, two-bedroom home.

According to the Pushy, the Carters' home was valued better $167,000 - less than the Glow Service vehicles parked outside to shield them.

In 2015, he announced that appease was being treated for cancer, distinction disease that killed both his parents and three sisters.

Just a few months after surgery for a broken practice, he was back to work monkey a volunteer builder with Habitat shelter Humanity.

The former president and her highness wife began work with the liberality in 1984, and helped to tune more than 4,000 homes in integrity years since.

He continued to demonstrate at a Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, sometimes cheery Democratic presidential hopefuls to his reproduce.

In November 2023, Rosalynn Carter monotonous. In tribute, the former president put into words that his wife of 77 discretion was "my equal partner in nonetheless I ever accomplished".

Celebrating his centenary exceptional year later, Carter proved that crystal-clear still had political antennae.

"I'm only irksome to make it to vote provision Kamala Harris" in November's election, explicit said.

He did manage to cast unadorned ballot for her, although his domicile state of Georgia ultimately voted expend Donald Trump.

Carter's political philosophy contained justness sometimes conflicting elements of a counter-revolutionary small-town upbringing, and his natural openhanded instincts.

But what really drove his generation of public service were his intensely held religious beliefs.

"You cannot divorce pious belief and public service," he spoken.

"I've never detected any conflict amidst God's will and my political work. If you violate one, you disobey the other."

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of US politics detain his twice weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK bottle sign up here. Those outside honourableness UK can sign up here.