Former President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.
Former United States President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. He announced in 2015 that he suffered from melanoma, which had affected his liver and brain, cancer which he had overcome after four months of radiotherapy. The former President of the United States then suffered a series of health problems. Two years ago, he decided to stop his treatment for the disease and benefited from palliative care at home. It was in fact at his home, in Georgia (south-east of the country), that the former tenant of the White House had decided to “spend the time he had left”, according to information provided by his foundation.
The former head of state led the country for 4 years (1977-1981) and then devoted the other half of his life to actions in favor of democracy. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, following his various humanitarian actions and his efforts to advance democracy and human rights.
James Earl Carter, better known as Jimmy Carter, was the thirty-ninth president of the United States. He was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. He grew up in a rural environment marked by the Baptist religion. A brilliant student, he attended Georgia Southwestern College and the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1946, the year of his marriage to Rosalynn Smith, mother of his four children. Then, he joined the Navy, for whom he worked on various programs, including one on nuclear submarines. In 1953, he left the army to return to his hometown, where he devoted himself to peanut cultivation while becoming actively involved in local religious life.
He entered politics by serving on the Plains School Board, after which he served two terms as a senator representing the state of Georgia. From 1971 to 1975, he was governor of the same state. One of his favorite themes is the fight against racial segregation. In 1976, he was elected President of the United States as a Democratic Party candidate.
For four years, his mandate was marked by his measures in terms of foreign policy, notably the treaties on the Panama Canal and the Camp David agreements. Its domestic policy is based around strong themes such as the creation of the ministries of Energy and National Education as well as the protection of the environment. But the hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran or the management of the economy linked to the second oil shock had a strong impact on public opinion and were part of the reasons why he was not re-elected in 1981.
In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. On January 8, 2009, he participated in a lunch at the White House aimed at bringing together the living presidents of the United States. With his participation, are present: George HW Bush, Barack Obama (then president-elect but not yet in office), George W. Bush (the current president), George Bush And Bill Clinton.
- October 1, 1924: Birth of Jimmy Carter
- On October 1, 1924, the man who would become the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, was born in Georgia. After a stint in the Navy, Jimmy Carter began his political journey in the early 1960s. During the 1976 elections, Jimmy Carter positioned himself as the Democratic candidate for president, a presidency he won with 50.1% of the vote. against Gerald Ford. Many political successes will mark the mandate of Jimmy Carter, replaced in 1981 by Ronald Reagan.
- November 2, 1976: Election of Jimmy Carter
- On November 2, 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States with the Democratic Party label, facing Gerald Ford (Republican Party), in one of the closest presidential elections across the Atlantic. Jimmy Carter won by collecting 50.08% of the votes and succeeded Richard Nixon. He officially took office on January 20, 1977.
- September 17, 1978: Signing of the Camp David Accords
- Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are brought together by United States President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland. After thirteen days of negotiations, the discussions led to the signing of a “framework agreement on the conclusion of peace between Egypt and Israel”. The Israelis withdrew from Sinai three months later, allowing diplomatic relations between the two countries to resume.
- November 4, 1979: Hostage taking in Tehran
- While the United States has been welcoming the shah since October 22, exiled in Mexico after the Islamic revolution of January 1979, 400 students attack the American embassy in Tehran. Initially held back by the Marines, they quickly invaded the scene and took 63 people hostage as well as members of the administration. Their demands are clear, the release of the hostages will be in exchange for the delivery of the shah to be tried in Iran. But the United States does not wish to hand over their former ally, whom they are receiving for medical reasons, nor to give in to Khomeini, suspected of being responsible for this operation. Jimmy Carter then chose economic retaliation and notably suspended oil imports from Iran. But in vain, while only thirteen hostages were released in the first weeks, fifty-two would have to wait 444 days and the election of Reagan to regain their freedom.
- January 20, 1981: Release of Tehran hostages
- The election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States puts an end to the 444 days of captivity of the Tehran hostages. The success of the new president is total and so is the humiliation of Jimmy Carter. This immediate outcome gives rise to doubts and controversies about the nature of the transactions undertaken between the Republican Party and the Iranian government: Reagan’s entourage allegedly ensured that the hostage-takers waited for the president’s election to release their victim, and the negotiation would have focused on the sale of arms. However, two parliamentary commissions of inquiry rejected this hypothesis. In fact, Reagan chose the path of negotiation and allowed the unfreezing of Iranian funds in exchange for the release of the hostages.
- December 29, 2024: Death of Jimmy Carter