- Former US President Jimmy Carter will receive hospice care.
- He will spend his remaining time at home with his family.
- Mr. Carter, 98, is the country’s oldest living former leader.
Former United States President Jimmy Carter will receive hospice care and “spend his remaining time at home with his family” instead of additional medical intervention, the Carter Center says.
Mr. Carter, 98, is the country’s oldest living former leader.
From 1977 until 1981, he was a Democrat. Ronald Reagan defeated him in his reelection bid.
He has had significant health concerns, including a melanoma that spread to his liver and brain.
“He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the Carter Center said in a statement on Saturday.
Mr. Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, a former Georgia state representative, tweeted that he had seen “both of my grandparents yesterday.”
“They are at peace and – as always – their home is full of love. Thank you all for your kind words,” he said.
Mr. Carter and his wife Roslyn will be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021. They have four children together.
Mr. Carter, who was born in Georgia in 1924, entered politics in the 1960s as a state legislator before becoming governor of Georgia in 1971.
Five years later, he defeated incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford to become the 39th President of the United States.
But, challenges arose early for Mr. Carter as president.
Domestically, an oil crisis caused high inflation and unemployment, and he struggled to persuade Americans to embrace the necessary austerity measures.
The signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978, in which Egypt legally recognized the establishment of Israel, was a high point of the Carter administration. He also signed a pact that returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama.
However, the last Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979, and 66 Americans were kidnapped in Tehran as a result. In reaction, Mr Carter severed diplomatic relations with Iran and imposed a trade boycott.
Unfortunately, the public did not believe he was tough enough, and his popularity plummeted during the 444-day detention of US hostages. His popularity dropped even worse after an attempt to rescue the hostages failed and eight US military personnel were killed.
Iran then postponed the captive release until after Ronald Reagan was sworn in.
Mr. Carter has stayed active since leaving the White House, carrying out humanitarian activities through his Carter Center.
In 1994, he led a mission to urge military leaders in Haiti to hand up power, and he arranged a ceasefire in Bosnia that helped prepare the ground for a future peace accord.
He went on to earn the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote human rights on a global scale.
He co-founded The Elders with Nelson Mandela, a collection of world leaders dedicated to promoting peace and human rights.
He also traveled widely, far into his early 90s, and participated in annual Habitat for Humanity charity-building missions.
But, the former president has also struggled with a number of health concerns in recent years. Mr. Carter had a tiny malignant tumor removed from his liver in August 2015.
The following year, he announced that he did not require any further therapy because an investigational medicine had removed all evidence of cancer.
Nonetheless, despite coping with his health issues, he has shown remarkable serenity.
“I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015. “I’ve had an exciting, adventurous, and gratifying existence.”
Mr. Carter celebrated his most recent birthday in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife were born during World War I and the Great Depression and where they returned when he left office.
A host of senior US politicians – including Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock – offered their thoughts and prayers to Mr. Carter’s family as news broke on Saturday night.
“In this tender time of transitioning, God is surely walking with him,” Senator Warnock tweeted. “May he, Rosalynn & the entire Carter family be comforted with that peace and surrounded by our love & prayers.”
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