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PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has paid tribute to former US president, Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights campaigner Jimmy Carter, who has died aged 100.
Carter, who was the 39th President of the United States, died “peacefully” at his home in Plains in Georgia, “surrounded by his family,” the Carter Centre said in a statement yesterday. He had been in hospice care for nearly two years.
The Democrat was the oldest living ex-US president and the longest-living American president too.
US President Joe Biden has declared 9 January a national day of mourning for Carter, calling on Americans to visit their places of worship to “pay homage” to the late US leader.
In a statement, President Michael D Higgins said the former US president would be remembered “as a principled man who dedicated his life to seeking to advance the cause of peace across the world”.
“The values that a global public have come to associate with former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, for younger generations in particular, will have been through their awareness, and admiration, of the work of the Carter Center. These values were, however, ones that can be seen to have informed all of his life,” he said.
His exceptional contribution was in his quest to understand the obstacles to peace.
“Almost uniquely as a former President, his greatest legacy will however perhaps be his distinguished record and commitment to human rights in the decades following his Presidency.”
President Higgins commended the work of the Carter Centre, along with Carter’s voluntary work with charities, such as Habitat for Humanity.
Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/aqYmcE9tXi
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) December 29, 2024
“He provided consistent support for those seeking to build a better and more just world, helped to provide greater access to healthcare to many of the most vulnerable across the planet, and drew attention to human rights abuses wherever he saw them,” he said.
I cannot think of anyone who would be more appalled at the images on the television screens of the world of tiny children, a few weeks old or less, being buried having died from hypothermia, their mothers malnourished and the last of their working hospitals razed.
He continued: ““A thoroughly decent man of great integrity” is how those who knew him will describe President Jimmy Carter, who leaves a rich legacy of public service.
“On behalf of the people of Ireland, may I express my sympathies to President Carter’s children and extended family, to President Joe Biden, to the people of the United States, and to his wide circle of colleagues and friends across the globe.
“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dhílis.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris said it was with “the utmost sadness” that he learned of Carter’s death.
“As 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter served in his nation’s highest office with distinction before forging an enduring legacy as a global statesman and human rights pioneer,” Harris said.
It is with the utmost sadness that I have learned of the death of former US
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) December 29, 2024
President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter.
May he rest in peace.
Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/lYxPwhGKub
“At 100 years old, President Carter did some of his most impactful work after he left the Oval Office in a retirement that lasted more than four decades.”
The Taoiseach said that Carter’s work in the Middle East remains of global significance and is “a reminder of the moral obligation on the world leaders of today as a humanitarian catastrophe on an unprecedented scale unfolds there now”.
Jimmy Carter’s legacy is a reminder of what diplomacy can achieve; the peace deal he helped to forge between Israel and Egypt at Camp David stands to this day.
He also said that Carter was a keen supporter of peace in Ireland and a respected voice on the road to the Good Friday Agreement.
“The world has lost a great humanitarian, the United States has lost a great President, and a family has lost a wonderful decent man. May he rest in peace.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of Carter’s death.
“President Carter truly lived a life less ordinary, with a deep commitment to peace in the Middle East, human and civil rights, housing, and ending the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union,” Martin said.
“The personification of public service, his work extended to our own island, as he took the first decisive steps to proactive and transformational US engagement on Northern Ireland. This commitment to peace in Ireland endures today.
“A humanitarian to the end, my condolences go to President Carter’s family, friends and the American people.”
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1′s Morning Ireland today, former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson spoke fondly of Carter and said: “I loved him dearly”.
Robinson, who is chairperson of the Elders, the group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, became friends with Carter through the organisation. The former US President was a founding member of the group which focuses on peace, justice and human rights.
In particular, Robinson highlighted Carter’s work and understanding of environmental issues, noting that he even put solar panels on the White House in 1979. These were removed by President Regan in 1986.
US Ambassador Claire Cronin said Carter was a “remarkable statesman, humanitarian, and a man whose unwavering commitment to peace and justice has left an indelible mark on our world”.
“As we reflect on President Carter’s remarkable legacy, we are reminded of his profound influence and the lessons he imparted through his words and actions,” she said.
“In 1977, as Northern Ireland was engulfed in The Troubles, President Carter issued the first formal statement on Northern Ireland by a U.S. president. This groundbreaking initiative established the precedent for the pivotal role successive U.S. presidents would play in securing peace and lay the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement.
His message was clear: peace is possible through dialogue and mutual respect. This statement not only resonated with the people of Northern Ireland but also galvanised international support for peace efforts in the region.
“His legacy of compassion and service stands as a guiding light, reminding us all of the impact one individual can have in making the world a better place.”
US President Joe Biden, one of the first elected politicians to endorse Carter’s bid for the presidency in 1976, said the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”.
“Over six decades, we had the honour of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well,” he said.
Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian. pic.twitter.com/Ki7Rhbent0
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 29, 2024
“With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us.”
Among former US presidents, Bill Clinton said his predecessor had “worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.”
George W. Bush said Carter “dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency.”
Barack Obama hailed Carter for teaching “all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.”
President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man. https://t.co/dZHL0Nu0Tj
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2024
US Vice President Kamala Harris said Carter “reminded our nation and the world that there is strength in decency and compassion”.
“His life and legacy continue to inspire me – and will inspire generations to come,” she said. “Our world is a better place because of President Carter.”
US president-elect Donald Trump said Americans owed Carter “a debt of gratitude”.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” he said on social media, adding later that “I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for Carter’s “noble legacy” to live on.
“His work advanced peace, health and democracy worldwide,” she said. “He will be remembered for his moral leadership.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Carter would be remembered “for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace, and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity.”
Carter was preceded in death by Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years. She died on 19 November 2023, at age 96.
He is survived by the couple’s four children – three sons and a daughter.
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Fate can be cruel. Carter lived to see Trump re-elected. What Carter believed about Americans being able or willing to recover from this I do not know. But the next 4 years will represent the polar opposite to what Carter strove to be and do as president. In any case RIP.
@Numinous20111:
Carter was a man of peace.
He would have been happy that the least war mongering president in US history was re-elected.
@Paul: Didn’t he threaten to drop nuclear weapons on North Korea? Isn’t that what war mongers do?
@Tasty k: No, war mongers bomb countries like Obama.
They give Isreal unlimited weapons and funding like Genocide Joe.
@Tasty k: nonsense … he was president two decades after the Korean war ended
Possibly the last really decent US president.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: a pity “decency” doesn’t translate to effectiveness.
Mary Robinson is some dose. On the radio this morning name dropping like a lunatic. When me Kofi Jimmy and nelson were having breakfast…………. Jesus wept
@reg morrisey: jasus lad go and see some one about your mammy issues
@reg morrisey: So many leaders can swan around being nice and virtueie because reality Presidents like Regan kept them safe.
@reg morrisey: Are you bitter because you made nothing of your life?
@reg morrisey: Graeme Keyes cartoonist from Phoenix magazine has a drawing of Kofi Annan and Mary Robinson meeting
Kofi -Kofi
Robinson – why thank you milk and two sugars
A man not without flaws (the same as the rest of us) but look at the last 3 incumbents Obama,Biden, Trump .. worst holders of the office in US history. Carter has a decent legacy.
@John Manahan: If we are to grade recent US presidents, then Nixon and Reagan both committed treason on the US.
Reagan turned Central America into far-right killing fields, with the support of Bush I.
Bush II did Afghanistan, and then Iraq. As well as crashing the economy in into the worst recessions in living memory (facilitated by Reagan’s repealing of laws brought in after The Great Depression to ensure it would not happen again).
And Trump…
Classed as *the* worst US president of all.
And all supported the White Supremacist Racist Genocidal state that calls itself Israel.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: at least they all got the supporting Israel bit correct…..long live the state of Israel…..and its new suburbs and it’s future plans for a holiday location called Iran
@John Manahan: you can put Bush jr at the head of your list.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: you live on a different planet
@Sam Flynn: I had to mute itwaslikethatwhenigothere after he said the only good Israelis and Russians are dead ones as they are unable to kill any Palestinian and Ukrainians. Itwaslikethatwhenigothere is definitely living on above the clouds.
@Ger Whelan: that mute button is a godsend
@and the hit’s just keep coming: so your un favor of apartheid and genocide ,
@Robert Halvey: anything that kills terrorists and their backers …..it was always Judea
@Ger Whelan: I will put Barack Obama at the head of the list
@and thse hit’s just keep coming: so by your logic the btits should have nuked ireland because of what the ira done
Save Palestinian children from the terrorist state of israel and their never ending holocaust
@Tommy445: Meanwhile, East Palestine, (over 74% of the Palestine territory
The emir Abdullah, created a Hashemite emirate in East Palestine. He later called it Trans-Jordan, then Jordan, and then; The Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. His grandson, – king Abdullah runs the kingdom as an independent country.
So; Palestine, has never been STATE. It is still a place, a territory or an area on the map.
It is today, still a geographic region.
Israel runs Area C for her 500,000 citizens who live on the West Back.
There is a dispute in place over the future of the WB.
In the Middle East today, there are over 20 major disputes, on-going. The WB dispute is just one of about 20.
@thomas molloy: excellent post. Accurate and unbiased
It’ll be okay. Mehole Martin is deeply saddened by this.
A Man of peace and love….May he now rest in peace……
He certainly would’t have sponsored the destruction of hospitals and kicking the patients onto the stteets…… unimaginable…. how low the USA has sunk.
@Tis Shields: that’s the Democrats for you!
They really, really hate the Palestinian people!
RIP. Decent man.
Probably one of the Most Down to Earth Presidents USA ever Had,
I do remember when he was in Dublin so long ago someone threw eggs at him,
Rip Mr Carter.
I wonder what they’ll say about trump when he’s dead.
@reg morrisey: He was a nice colour.
@reg morrisey: I know Melania will be saying something along the lines of…Hup outta dat!
@reg morrisey: may he burn in he’ll
@reg morrisey: they’ll be saying he’s dead because of a witchunt
@reg morrisey: the official song for the funeral is definitely gonna be yellow by coldplay….
@reg morrisey: he’s already embalmed.
@Me Me: “orange you glad I’m gone?” colour?
Good riddance to him. He pardoned pedophile Peter Yarrow who abused multiple girls over a 24 year period because he donated to his re-election campaign. He was a vicious racist who attacked his opponent in the 1970 Gubernatorial Election in Georgia “For bowing his knees to the negroes” and attacked Gerald Ford in the 1976 Presidential Election by saying “He knows where his true loyalties lie” in a narrated television ad which showed Ford shaking hands with Civil Rights leaders. He also made numerous other racist remarks over the years including a series of antisemitic statements which deliberately delegitimised Israel. He also sucked as President. He was wiped out in 1980 because he did nothing positive. Inflation was 13.5%, unemployment was nearly 10% + the economy was in deep recession.
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