The Democratic Party icon lived longer than any president in US history, serving one term between 1977 and 1981, going on burnish his reputation on the international stage by being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and establishing a major hub for diplomacy and conflict resolution in the form of the Carter Center – which advocates for democracy and human rights around the world.
After suffering an undisclosed illness, he elected to stop medical treatment last year, choosing instead to receive hospice care at home. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden led the tributes, saying that the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.”
In his statement Mr. Guterres highlighted President Carter’s leadership while in office and overall contributions to international peace and security, “including the landmark Camp David Accords” – the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel which remains in force.
The Secretary-General also noted the gains made through the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks which led to the 1979 SALT II Treaty between the US and the Soviet Union – limiting nuclear proliferation – together with the Panama Canal Treaties which enabled ownership of the key waterway linking the Pacific and Atlantic to return to Panama in 1999.
After leaving office, President Carter turned his attention to addressing global challenges of inequality, human rights, inadequate housing and other social justice issues.
“President Carter’s commitment to international peace and human rights also found full expression after he left the presidency,” said the UN chief.
“He played a key role in conflict mediation, election monitoring, the promotion of democracy, and disease prevention and eradication,” Mr. Guterres added.
A friend of the UN
“These and other efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and helped advance the work of the United Nations.”
President Carter, together with former South African President Nelson Mandela, founded The Elders group, to advance the human rights and peace agenda.
Mr. Guterres said President Carter would be remembered “for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace, and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity.”
He extended his deepest condolences to the Carter family and all citizens of the United States.
He concluded by saying the former president’s “legacy as a peacemaker, human rights champion and humanitarian will endure.”
President Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He lost his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, in November last year.
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