Former US President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 on Sunday. He served as the 39th president of the United States from from 1977 to 1981, and was the longest-lived American president.
His death comes nearly two years after he entered hospice care at his home Plains, Georgia — where he lived most of his life with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died at the age of 96 last year.
Carter started as peanut farmer before entering the world of politics and had continued with humanitarian work even beyond his years in the White House. He served as the governor of Georgia. Carter was preceded by President Gerald Ford and succeeded by President Ronald Reagan.
He was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights and to promote economic and social development.”
Carter helped to shape the modern Middle East, with a mixed record in the region. He brokered the Camp David Accords, which had two parts: a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel and another for negotiations on Palestinian autonomy.
He was also president during the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, which ended the day he left office. In a controversial move, he returned the Panama Canal to Panama. And his Carter Center played a major role in the near eradication of Guinea worm disease.
Meanwhile, his move to create a Cabinet-level agency elevated the federal government’s role in US education for decades.
Listen to today’s show to learn more about Jimmy Carter’s life and legacy.
Carter’s state funeral will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9, and will feature a eulogy by President Joe Biden.
Correction: The audio for this story has been updated to correct an error.
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