Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president known as a champion of international human rights both during and after his White House tenure and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifetime of dedication to that cause, has died at 100, ABC News has learned.
Carter’s death was also announced by the Carter Center on X, which posted “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia.” The Carter Center also shared a tribute site for the late president.
Carter, whose wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96, is survived by the couple’s children — John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip) and Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff); and their daughter, Amy Lynn.
“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian,” President Biden said in a statement in reaction to Carter’s death. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”
Calling him “a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism” and “a great American,” Biden said he was “ordering an official state funeral to be held in Washington, D.C. for James Earl Carter, Jr., 39th President of the United States, 76th Governor of Georgia, Lieutenant of the United States Navy, graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and favorite son of Plains, Georgia, who gave his full life in service to God and country.”
“Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life,” former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a joint statement, in part. “Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others — until the very end … he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Carter “one of our most humble and devoted public servants” who “personified the true meaning of leadership through service, through compassion, and through integrity.”
“May his memory be a blessing and an enduring reminder of what it means to truly serve,” Schumer’s statement concluded.
“President Carter served during times of tension and uncertainty, both at home and abroad. But his calm spirit and deep faith seemed unshakeable,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement, in part. “As Jimmy Carter is reunited with his beloved Rosalynn, our thoughts and prayers are with their children, Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the millions of Americans whose lives were touched by his service.”
“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement, adding that he and wife Melania urged everyone to keep Carter’s family “in their hearts and prayers.”
Carter had endured several health challenges in recent years. In 2019, he underwent surgery after breaking his hip in a fall. Four years earlier, Carter was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that had spread to his brain, though just months later, he announced that he no longer needed treatment due to a new type of cancer therapy he’d been receiving.
In February of 2023, the Carter Center, the organization founded by the former president to promote human rights worldwide, announced that Carter, with “the full support of his family and his medical team,” would begin receiving hospice care at home.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the Carter Center said in a statement.
Carter attended the public memorial service for his late wife on Nov. 28, 2023, some nine months after the announcement that he’d entered hospice care. Frail and in a wheelchair, he didn’t speak at the memorial. Instead, his daughter, Amy, spoke on his behalf, reading from a letter Carter sent to Rosalynn some 75 years earlier, when he was away serving in the Navy.
“My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are,” the letter read, in part. “While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be, as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again.”