Jimmy Carter, the oldest living US president, has died at the age of 100.

Carter, who served as president between 1977 and 1981, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, according to the Carter Center.

The organization, which Carter founded a year after he left the White House, said in a post on the X website: “Our founder, former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia.”

The death was first reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The cause of death was not immediately determined, although Carter spent nearly two years under hospice care at his home after being treated for a type of skin cancer. He celebrated his 100th birthday at his home in October.

Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter, died at the age of 76, in November 2023.

Our founder, former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/aqYmcE9tXi

— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) December 29, 2024

Although he only served one term, the former peanut farmer from Georgia has cast a long shadow over his post-presidential career. This included winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for the Carter Center’s work combating Guinea worm disease in Africa and monitoring elections around the world.

He also continued to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity’s homebuilding organization late in life, cementing a reputation for community service and humility that earned him plaudits from across the political aisle.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden described Carter as “an exceptional leader, statesman, and humanitarian.”

“With his compassion and moral clarity, he has worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, shelter the homeless, and always stand up for the least among us,” Biden said. He was presiding over an official funeral that will be held for the former president.

“He has saved, uplifted and changed lives around the world,” Biden added.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Social Truth platform: “We are all in debt [Carter] A debt of gratitude.”

All living former US presidents also participated. US President Bill Clinton said that Carter “worked tirelessly for a better world.” Former President Barack Obama said that Carter “taught us all what it means to live a life of dignity, dignity, justice and service”; Former President George W. Bush said Carter’s life “will inspire Americans for generations.”

French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first world leaders to react to Carter’s death, saying that Carter “was a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable groups and fought tirelessly for peace.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer added that Carter “redefined the post-presidential era with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad.”

A troubled presidency

Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a moderate Southern Democrat with little national name recognition. However, it experienced an unexpected rise amid anger over US involvement in the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon’s scandal-filled presidency.

But the pressures of the Cold War and economic problems at home weighed on his presidency, which was further marred by the taking of 52 Americans hostage at the US embassy in Tehran in 1979. Republican challenger Ronald Reagan went on to easily defeat Carter in the 1980 elections.

However, Carter oversaw some major diplomatic victories while in office, including helping to craft an agreement between then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, which restored diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries, in 1978. An agreement was reached On the condition that Israel returns the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in a statement on Sunday that the great role played by Carter in achieving the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel will remain engraved in the annals of history, and that his humanitarian work embodies a sublime level of love, peace and tolerance. “Brotherhood”

While the agreement did not resolve the Palestinian issue, Carter became an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights.

In 2006, he published a book called “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” using a label that was not adopted by major human rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for more than a decade. He has also been an outspoken critic of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

In a post on X on Sunday, writer Asal Rad described Carter as “one of the only American presidents who has spoken honestly about Palestine.”

Human Rights Watch said that Carter “set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after leaving office.”