When he lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election, Jimmy Carter was only 56 years old. Too young for traditional political retirement and still with a purpose in life, he quickly set about making the most of his coming years. He devoted himself to founding the Carter Center and pursuing a number of issues including conflict resolution. Carter’s post-presidential life earned him acclaim and the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, he was widely viewed as an exemplary former president. In the process, he reinvented himself and the post-presidency.

In seeking to resolve the conflict, Carter chose to make peace privately and, in the process, do away with the established norms expected of previous presidents. His private diplomacy included meeting and negotiating with unsavory figures deemed unworthy of the former president’s approval. In 1994 alone, Carter traveled to meet and negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and Haitian President Raoul Cedras. Negotiating with international pariahs led to criticism of Carter for providing them with direct encounter and even a degree of legitimacy. Perhaps his most controversial private peacemaking effort up to then was his 1994 meeting with Bosnian Serb rebel leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic.

Shortly before Christmas 1994, Carter made a trip of more than 5,000 miles from the United States to the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Bali outside Sarajevo. He was welcomed by the rebel leaders. The purpose of his trip was to reach a ceasefire between the rebels and the Bosnian government in the middle of winter. His meetings with Karadzic and Mladic raised eyebrows and were subjected to severe criticism. In 1994, the 39th US President met with individuals whom the US State Department had listed as suspected of having committed war crimes in 1992. What was Carter planning to do and why?

By the time of Carter’s visit, Bosnia had been at war for two and a half years with Bosnian Serb forces overrunning much of the country. The internationally recognized Bosnian government, after surviving the initial attacks, was showing serious resistance and launching attacks aimed at reclaiming the occupied territories. The outlines of an international peace plan known as the Contact Group Plan put forward in the summer of 1994 were accepted by the Bosnian government and rejected by the Bosnian Serbs. The winter of that year served as a respite before major military operations of the Bosnian government were expected in the spring of the following year. Against this background, Carter traveled to Bosnia in December 1994 to reach a ceasefire.

Bosnian Serb envoys who visited the former president in Plains, Georgia, contacted Carter to request his participation. The Clinton administration was ambivalent about Carter’s trip and walked away from it without openly opposing it. The Bosnian government was concerned that this was a public relations stunt by Karadžić to persuade a former American president to visit him but was in no position to prevent it.

When Carter landed in Sarajevo, he got a first-hand sense of the Bosnian capital under siege, which he recalled in his memoirs. Bosnian government officials, who were convinced that Carter had been tricked into making the trip, received a cool reception. By contrast, the mood in Bali the next day was cheerful. No person of higher political stature and world renown has graced this city with a visit. The negotiations resulted in an agreement on a four-month ceasefire.

All parties involved agreed to a ceasefire, but for different reasons. The Pale Serbs turned out to be the main beneficiaries of Carter’s special diplomacy. More important than a temporary ceasefire is the opportunity to host the former US president in their stronghold and brief him on Serbian grievances. Carter’s mere presence in Bali was a major propaganda coup. This public relations success led Karadžić to exaggerate his expectations about Carter’s possible future involvement. In fact, Karadžić sought to engage Carter in Bosnia again in 1995, but to no avail.

The Bosnian government was not satisfied with Carter’s trip, but did not want to hinder his mission. However, seeking to make the most of the evolving situation, Sarajevo demanded that the ceasefire be extended to the entire country, thus saving the besieged enclave of Bihac in the northwest from further attacks.

Instead of achieving peace, Carter’s ceasefire turned out to be merely a respite in the war. The winter break was a prelude to major, fact-changing attacks launched by the Bosnian and Croat armies in the summer of 1995, which helped pave the way for an end to the war. In November 1995, negotiations resulted in the Dayton Peace Accords.

Although Carter’s understanding of the Bosnian war was unclear, his determination to play the role of peacemaker – a quality rarely seen in a former president – overcame any fears of more experienced peacemaking hands. His initiative in Bosnia represents another example of his post-presidential activism.

However, one tainted by controversy.

The image that clearly expressed the entire controversy surrounding Carter’s trip was the image of the former president and leader of the Bosnian Serbs. The December 1994 photograph of the two declaring a ceasefire in Bali was embarrassing. The former US president, who focused on human rights in office and outside of it, was surrounded by “the architect of the genocide in Bosnia” – to borrow Radovan Karadžić’s description from the American researcher in Bosnia, Robert Dunia.

Today, after his death at the age of 100 on December 29, the world remembers former President Carter as a statesman and human rights advocate who remained committed to building peace.

But his trip to Bali, and his meeting with Karadžić, immortalized in a photo taken almost thirty years ago, remain a major blemish on his long and influential post-presidential career.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.