Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care.
The Georgia peanut farmer served one turbulent term in the White House before building a reputation as a global humanitarian and champion of democracy. He defeated President Gerald Ford in 1976 promising to restore trust in government but lost to Ronald Reagan four years later amid soaring inflation, gas station lines and the Iran hostage crisis.
He and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, then formed The Carter Center, and he earned a Nobel Peace Prize while making himself the most active and internationally engaged of former presidents.
The Carter Center said the former president died Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia.
FILE – Judge Robert H. Jordan administers the oath of office to Gov. Jimmy Carter at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, Jan. 12, 1971. Next to the judge is former Gov. Lester Maddox, who will take over as lieutenant governor of Georgia. (AP Photo, File)FILE – Democratic presidential hopeful, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, holds a poster as he mingles with the crowd during a campaign visit in Williamsport, Pa., April 24, 1976. (AP Photo, File)FILE – Jimmy Carter gives his acceptance speech after accepting the Democratic nomination for president on the convention floor, July 15, 1976, at New York’s Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo, File)FILE – President Jimmy Carter speaks about energy before a joint session of the Congress in Washington, April 21, 1977. House speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill is at right, and Vice President Walter Mondale is at left. (AP Photo, File)FILE – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands to symbolize their agreement after signing the Middle East Peace Treaty at the White House in Washington, March 27, 1979. (AP Photo, File)FILE – President Jimmy Carter pauses to kiss his wife, first lady Rosalynn Carter, as he boards a helicopter in Washington for a trip from the White House to Camp David, Md., May 10, 1979. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File)FILE – President Jimmy Carter leans across the roof of his car to shake hands along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., July 31, 1979. The president climbed on top of the car as the parade moved toward the high school gym, where a town meeting was held. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter help build a Habitat for Humanity house in Violet, La., May 21, 2007. The pair were working on the 1,000th Habitat for Humanity house in the Gulf Coast region since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter poses for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 10, 2007, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, receive honorary degrees from Queen’s University Chancellor David Dodge in Kingston, Ontario, Nov. 21, 2012. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press via AP, File)FILE – President Barack Obama, from left, stands with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter addresses the audience after being awarded the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero by Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela during a ceremony at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Jan. 14, 2016. The award, named for Panama’s first president, recognizes distinguished people in the areas of politics, science and the arts. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
