Jimmy Carter, 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 redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, died on Sunday. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American President died 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, the Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the centre said on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reactions poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and that he had lost a dear friend. Mr. 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,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said.
Residents of a Haryana village, Carterpuri, fondly recalled his visit in 1978 which gave the village its name. For a long time after his visit, his office kept writing back to the villagers’ letters. When Carter exited the White House in 1981, he was largely written off as an inconsequential leader. The U.S. economy was stagnant. Inflation and unemployment were stubbornly high. In 1979, the Shah of Iran, an American ally, was overthrown by a popular revolution. An Iranian mob seized the U.S. embassy and took 52 Americans hostage. A commando operation aimed at rescuing the hostages turned out to be a disaster in the Iranian deserts. In 1978, communists took over Kabul. A year later, the Soviets sent troops to Afghanistan. Carter, a Democrat, sought re-election in 1980 with the image of a weak President. And he was easily defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan. However, Carter lived long enough to see historians taking a kinder view of his legacy. From his energy policies to his emphasis on human rights, many today laud him as a visionary. While the debate over his legacy continues, it’s not difficult to see that at least three foreign policy decisions he made continued to define his record in the White House and set a new direction for American foreign policy. He completed the diplomatic normalisation process with China, launched the policy of supporting the Afghan Mujahideen against the communist government in Kabul and its Soviet backers and brokered the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel, which also called for the establishment of Palestinian self-rule in occupied territories.
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Published – December 31, 2024 07:45 am IST