Kathmandu: Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, died on Sunday. He was 100 years old.
The longest-lived American president died roughly 22 months after entering hospice care at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections and house the homeless as an example for others. “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning—the good life—study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden spoke later Sunday evening about Carter, calling it a “sad day” but one that “brings back an incredible amount of good memories.” “I’ve been hanging out with Jimmy Carter for over 50 years,” Biden said in his remarks. He recalled the former president being a comfort to him and his wife Jill when their son Beau died in 2015 of cancer. The president remarked how cancer was a common bond between their families, with Carter himself having cancer later in his life. “Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well,” said Biden, who was ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world—Carte forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands—this is not optional—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said.
Mourning in Nepal
Political leaders as well as public intellectuals in Nepal recalled Carter as the man of peace who cared for Nepal. Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said of former President and Nobel laureate: “He leaves a lasting legacy of philanthropy and dedication to human rights and peace. Fondly recalling his 2013 visit to Nepal. May his family and the American people find strength in this loss.” Likewise, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba called him a “visionary leader, champion of peace, and tireless advocate for human rights and development” whose “legacy will endure.” “I extend heartfelt condolences to his family and the American people.” Dr Minendra Rijal, former minister and Nepali Congress leader, remembered him as “an unwavering advocate for peace, human rights, and democracy worldwide” adding that “Carter contributed significantly to Nepal’s human rights cause during and after his presidency.”
Senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit wrote “He meant well. In April 2008, Jimmy Carter came with his team to observe Nepal’s first elections after the peace process, with the manipulative Maoists riding high and fighters not disbanded in the cantonments, and promptly announced it free and fair.”
Likewise, Kul Chandra Gautam, former senior official of the United Nations and a public intellectual, recalled him as “a man of peace & principles – in such short supply in our world today.” “I recall my conversations with him on Nepal’s peace process, & global campaign to eradicate GuineaWorm disease.”
Carter is remembered in Nepal with respect also because he is the first top level American leader to visit Nepal, though in the capacity of the former president, in the context where no sitting American president has visited Nepal in the history of over 75 years of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the US.
Carter hailed the first Constituent Assembly elections of 2008 as a major success of Nepal and wrote: Constituent Assembly election “was the most transformational, in that: a) it offered an end to a dozen years of military and political conflict; b) it will lead to a total change in the structure of government from a kingdom to a democratic republic; and c) massive numbers of formerly excluded or marginalized groups will be given full legal status and probably enhanced social status. It has been a very satisfactory and gratifying experience.”
[Note: The first part of the story is derived from AP]
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