Former United States President Jimmy Carter has turned 100, with reward pouring in for the peanut farmer whose post-presidential career resonated far past his quick time in workplace.
Carter marked his birthday on Tuesday from his birthplace of Plains, Georgia, the place he entered hospice care in his modest house final 12 months.
He’s each the oldest dwelling president and the longest dwelling president in US historical past, with an outsized legacy outlined by his human rights and humanitarian work after a presidency throughout which he was closely criticised.
“I feel he has a sophisticated legacy however it actually boils down, to me and I feel, for him, that he lived out his religion and the commandment to like your neighbour as your self in a manner that made him respect individuals,” Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, instructed the native 11Alive information station forward of the ex-president’s birthday.
“And he used that respect to inform the reality. He used that respect to advertise human rights,” he mentioned. “He used that respect to work with the least of those, everywhere in the world in a manner that gave him companions within the poorest locations on the planet to do outstanding issues.”
Whereas Carter didn’t attend any occasions for his birthday, it was marked in September by a live performance in Atlanta, Georgia, the place a number of former US presidents despatched video messages praising Carter’s life’s work. A recording of the live performance is ready to air within the US on Tuesday evening.
A 12 months after leaving the presidency, Carter launched the Carter Heart charity, which has led an array of worldwide programmes. These embody overseeing election integrity around the globe, selling human rights and strengthening public well being.
The charity’s efforts helped to result in the near-total eradication of Guinea worm throughout the globe. Carter additionally remained lively with Habitat for Humanity, a worldwide home-building organisation, effectively into his 90s.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for “enterprise peace negotiations, campaigning for human rights and dealing for social welfare”.
‘Common silence’ on Israel
Carter’s post-presidential legacy has largely stood out resulting from his willingness to interrupt from political institution norms within the US.
In 2006, he turned the uncommon political determine – not to mention a former president – to question Israel’s policies in occupied Palestinian territory.
He condemned “nearly a common silence regarding something that may be crucial of present insurance policies of the Israeli authorities”.
He additionally described the system of management within the occupied territory as “apartheid”, a stance that has since been adopted by some human rights organisations.
In 2009, he mentioned that Palestinians in Gaza have been “handled extra like animals than human beings”.
His place helped to pave the way for criticism of Israeli insurance policies inside mainstream US politics, regardless of deeply entrenched help for Washington’s “ironclad” ally among the many US political class.
His phrases additionally helped to put the groundwork for the rising variety of US lawmakers who’ve known as on the administration of President Joe Biden to cease the switch of weapons to Israel amid the struggle in Gaza, by which greater than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023.
Biden was amongst these praising Carter within the days earlier than his landmark birthday.
In a video handle aired on the CBS broadcaster’s Sunday Morning program, Biden praised the “ethical readability you confirmed all through your profession”.
“You’re a voice of braveness, conviction, compassion, and most of all, a beloved good friend of [First Lady] Jill and me and our household,” Biden mentioned.
He added that this was the primary birthday since Carter’s spouse of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023.
Peanut farmer to shock president
Born in 1924, Carter grew up supporting his father’s peanut farming enterprise, which he took over after serving within the US Navy. He turned a Democratic activist amid the civil rights motion, earlier than turning into a state senator and finally the governor of Georgia.
Just about unknown on the nationwide stage, he noticed a shock surge within the Democratic presidential main forward of the 1976 election and went on to defeat Republican President Gerald Ford.
Nonetheless, his solely time period in workplace was marked by a flagging financial system dogged by excessive inflation and unemployment. His effort to pivot US vitality consumption to renewable sources didn’t take off within the US Congress.
International coverage was extra of a combined bag. Carter helped to ascertain diplomatic relations with China, dealer a restrict on nuclear weapons with then-Soviet chief Leonid Brezhnev and strike a treaty that introduced the Panama Canal underneath native management.
He additionally oversaw talks between then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Start, which noticed the 2 nations set up full diplomatic and financial relations – in alternate for Israel returning a part of the Sinai Peninsula – as a part of the Camp David accords.
However the 1979 storming of the US Embassy in Tehran, which noticed 52 US residents taken hostage, represented a serious hit to Carter’s already tepid approval scores. They have been additional broken by a botched 1980 rescue try. Quickly after, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan defeated Carter in a landslide victory.
In later life, Carter, who was recognized with most cancers in 2015, remained lively in Democratic politics, rallying voters and offering recommendation to candidates. His re-emergence in the course of the 2020 presidential election season was dubbed the “Jimmy Carter Renaissance” by some.
His household has mentioned he has expressed hope that he’ll dwell to see the upcoming election on November 5. He hopes to vote for Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
