Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Carter died Sunday, coming up on two years after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia.
At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Here’s the latest:
Carter’s state funeral will be Jan. 9
President Joe Biden has scheduled a state funeral in Washington for former President Jimmy Carter on Jan. 9.
Biden also declared Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning across the U.S. Carter, the longest-lived former president, died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100.
Biden also ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.
Biden remembers Carter for his decency
President Joe Biden broke from his family vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to remember Carter, recalling his predecessor as a role model and friend.
America and the world lost a “remarkable leader” with Carter’s death, Biden said, adding that he had spoken to several of the former president’s children and was working with them to formalize memorial arrangements in Washington. Speaking for roughly 10 minutes, Biden remembered Carter as a humanitarian and statesman, someone he couldn’t imagine walking past a person in need without trying to help them. He represented “the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away,” Biden said.
The president repeatedly praised Carter’s “simple decency” and his values, saying some will see him as a man of honesty and humility from a bygone era.
“I don’t believe it’s a bygone era. I see a man not only of our time, but for all times,” Biden said. “To know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a Sunday school teacher at that Baptist church in Plains, Georgia.”
Commemoration in New York City
To commemorate Carter’s death, officials with the Empire State Building said in a post on social media that the iconic New York City landmark would be lit in red, white and blue on Sunday night, “to honor the life and legacy” of the late former president.
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