Jimmy Carter, who rose from humble peanut farmer to president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies aged 100

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr, a naval officer, Nobel Peace Prize winner and peanut farm operator who became governor of Georgia and later the 39th president of the United States, has died.

Carter, who was the longest-living former US president, died at the age of 100 on Sunday, 29 December, his son announced. An immediate cause was not given.

He served as president for one term from 1977 to 1981, but is just as well-known for his humanitarian service after leaving Washington DC, working for Habitat for Humanity and negotiating peace deals.

“Earlier in my life, I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see — the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are,” Carter said.

He continued his volunteer work for decades after leaving office until he entered hospice care in February 2023.

Carter, who throughout his political life went by Jimmy rather than James, was a towering figure in Democratic politics, both during and after his time in the White House. As president, he emphasized human rights in his foreign policy, championed environmentalism at a time when it was not yet popular and appointed record numbers of women and people of color during his administration.

However, he was considered a “failure” by some as president, a view Carter believed was attributed to him because he only served one term. But, he continued to serve the public after leaving office — including building homes for the poor through Habitat for Humanity.

“In all of our lives, there are usually a few precious moments when we feel exalted — that is, when we reach above our normal level of existence to a higher plane of excitement and achievement,” Carter said in 2009.

“I predict that every one of you who volunteers to help others in need will feel this same sense of exaltation. I believe that, in making what seems to be a sacrifice, you will find fulfilment in the memorable experience of helping others less fortunate than yourself.”

A simple life

Carter was born in 1924 in the small farm town of Plains, Georgia. His father, James Earl Carter Sr, was a farm supply businessman, and his mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, was a nurse. The young Carter attended public school in Plains, and as a teenager, he used an acre of his father’s land to grow and sell peanuts.

Carter continued his studies at Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1946, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy. Over the next several years, he devoted his life to the navy, serving on submarines and earning the rank of lieutenant. While stationed in Schenectady, New York, he studied nuclear physics and became a senior officer on one of the United States’ first nuclear submarines.

During his senior year of studying at the Naval Academy, he was reintroduced to a girl he knew in his childhood: Rosalynn Smith.

“The moon was full in the sky, conversation came easy, and I was in love,” Rosalynn Carter described in her memoir First Lady from Plains.

The two married in 1946, the year he graduated. The next year, their first child, Jack, was born, followed by James in 1950, Donnell in 1952 and Amy in 1967.

After 77 years of marriage, Rosalynn died on 19 November 2023 at 96 years old. Carter attributed much of his success to Rosalynn saying, “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

In 1952, James Carter Sr died. Upon learning of his father’s death, Carter resigned from the navy and returned home to Plains, where he took over his family’s farms and business. He soon took on more of a leadership role in the community, serving on several county boards. In 1962, he ran for and won a seat in Georgia’s state senate.

Rise in politics

In 1970, Carter ran again for governor of Georgia and won. In his inaugural address, he shocked many of his supporters by demanding an end to racial discrimination. As governor, he dramatically increased the number of Black judges and state employees, consolidated the state’s labyrinthian bureaucracies and enforced stricter oversight of budgets.

In a preview of his presidency, however, he frequently clashed with the state’s legislature, which found him arrogant and difficult to work with.

Meanwhile, Carter maneuvered his way toward the Democratic nomination for president. In 1974, just before his term as governor ended, he announced his candidacy for the White House — two years before the next presidential election.

“With the shame of Watergate still with us and our 200th birthday just ahead, it is time for us to reaffirm and to strengthen our ethical and spiritual and political beliefs,” Carter said in December 1974. “There must be no lowering of these standards, no acceptance of mediocrity in any aspect of our private or public lives.

“In our homes or at worship we are ever reminded of what we ought to do and what we ought to be. Our government can and must represent the best and the highest ideals of those of us who voluntarily submit to its authority.”

Though he had little national support at first, Carter spent his ample lead time vigorously campaigning and cleverly positioned himself as a Washington outsider with strong Christian principles.

After years of government lies about Vietnam and Watergate, that was just what many Americans thought they needed.

By the 1976 Democratic convention, Carter had enough momentum to win the nomination on the first ballot. In the general election, he attended three debates with President Gerald Ford — the first presidential debates since the Kennedy-Nixon ones in 1960, and a template setter for the debates held since.

In November, Carter narrowly won the presidential election, scoring 297 electoral votes against Ford’s 240.

“I think it’s time to tap the tremendous strength and vitality and idealism and hope and patriotism and a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood in this country to unify our nation, to make it great once again. It’s not... it’s not going to be easy for any of us,” Carter said in November 1976.

“I don’t claim to know all the answers, but I have said many times in my campaign around all 50 states that I’m not afraid to take on the responsibilities of president of the United States, because my strength and my courage and my advice and my counsel and my criticism comes from you.”

A presidency in turmoil

What followed was a presidency full of ambition but beset with problems from the start. Even so, many leaders and historians have praised Carter’s conscientious approach to the presidency.

Carter’s presidency was weighed down by multiple crises. In the 1970s, the economy struggled with a rare combination of simultaneous inflation and recession, an oil shortage sent gas prices soaring and the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, derailing negotiations for an important arms treaty.

Notably, in a struggle that lasted almost as long as his presidency, Carter fought over an energy program that was structured to make fuel expensive enough that consumers would be encouraged to conserve it.

The crisis required Carter to address the nation multiple times in 1979.

“In order to control energy price, production, and distribution, the Federal bureaucracy and red tape have become so complicated, it is almost unbelievable. Energy prices are high, and they’re going higher, no matter what we do,” he said in an April 1979 speech.

“There is no single answer. We must produce more. We must conserve more. And now we must join together in a great national effort to use American technology to give us energy security in the years ahead,” the president said. “The most effective action we can take to encourage both conservation and production here at home is to stop rewarding those who import foreign oil and to stop encouraging waste by holding the price of American oil down far below its replacement or its true value.”

However, ultimately, what became cemented in Carter’s legacy were the failures of the Iran hostage crisis, when mobs ransacked the US embassy in Tehran capturing 52 people and holding them hostage for the duration of his presidency. Carter’s efforts to end the crisis were unsuccessful, including a failed rescue attempt.

“We will not give up in our efforts,” Carter told the nation in 1980. “Throughout this extraordinarily difficult period, we have pursued and will continue to pursue every possible avenue to secure the release of the hostages. In these efforts, the support of the American people and of our friends throughout the world has been a most crucial element. That support of other nations is even more important now.”

“We will seek to continue, along with other nations and with the officials of Iran, a prompt resolution of the crisis without any loss of life and through peaceful and diplomatic means.”

The hostages were held for 444 days, a lengthy time that angered many Americans. It helped contribute to Carter’s loss to Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. Carter would only win six states in the landslide election that saw him lose the popular vote by nearly 9 million votes.

“I’ve not achieved all I set out to do; perhaps no one ever does. But we have faced the tough issues. We’ve stood for and we’ve fought for and we have achieved some very important goals for our country,’ Carter said after losing.

“These efforts will not end with this administration. The effort must go on. Nor will the progress that we have made be lost when we leave office. The great principles that have guided this nation since its very founding will continue to guide America through the challenges of the future.”

Time after office

In 1982, Carter and his wife founded the Carter Center, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to advancing human rights, leading health initiatives and improving the quality of life for people around the world.

Carter helped lead conflict resolutions, observed elections in nations with fraudulent voting processes and advised presidents on issues in more than 80 countries.

Under Carter’s leadership, the Carter Center worked alongside the World Health Organisation to nearly eradicate Guinea worm disease, an infection that occurs due to contaminated drinking water. The incidence of the disease decreased from 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 13 in 2022, according to the Carter Center.

Carter and his wife also spent one week a year volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps build homes for low-income people.

His humanitarian work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love,” Carter once said.

Though he was criticized as an ineffectual public speaker, Carter became a prolific writer, authoring more than a dozen books ranging from his memoirs to inspirational bestsellers.

At the beginning of 2023, Carter entered hospice care following multiple hospital stays. His wife later entered hospice care and died on 19 November, 2023. Carter, looking frail, attended her funeral but was seen smiling with others offering their condolences.

Carter went on to celebrate his 100th birthday on 1 October 2024, making him the oldest president in American history. Surrounded by his loved ones, the frail, wheelchair-bound former president was seen in the backyard of his home watching a military flyover in his honor.

His grandson Jason said he had been looking forward to voting for Kamala Harris in the November election.

Carter is survived by his four children, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.