Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter
Official portrait, 1978
39th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
Vice President	Walter Mondale
Preceded by	Gerald Ford
Succeeded by	Ronald Reagan
80th Governor of Georgia
In office January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975
Lieutenant	Lester Maddox
Preceded by	Lester Maddox
Succeeded by	George Busbee
Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 14th district
In office January 14, 1963 – January 10, 1967
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Hugh Carter
Constituency	Sumter County
Personal details
Born	James Earl Carter Jr. (1924-10-01)October 1, 1924 Plains, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 29, 2024(2024-12-29) (aged 100) Plains, Georgia, U.S.
Resting place	209 Woodland Drive, Plains
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Rosalynn Smith ​ ​ (m. 1946; died 2023)​
Children	4; including Jack and Amy
Parents	James Earl Carter Sr. (father) Lillian Gordy (mother)
Education	United States Naval Academy (BS) Georgia Institute of Technology
Civilian awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom Nobel Peace Prize Grammy Award
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1943–1953 (Active) 1953–1961 (Reserve)
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II
Military awards	American Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal China Service Medal National Defense Service Medal
Jimmy Carter's Voice Carter's discussion on the Panama Canal Recorded September 7, 1977

James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian. He was the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming president, Carter was a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967 and the 80th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.

He was born and grew up in Plains, Georgia. Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree and joined the United States Navy. In 1953, Carter left the military and returned home to Georgia to take charge of the family's peanut-growing business. Carter was against racial segregation and supported the growing civil rights movement. He became an activist in the Democratic Party. From 1963 to 1967, Carter was in the Georgia State Senate, and in 1970, he was elected as Governor of Georgia. He was governor until 1975.

At first, he was not seen as a serious presidential candidate as not many people knew him outside of Georgia. Carter eventually won the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination and was elected president, beating then-Republican President Gerald Ford.

On his second day in office, Carter pardoned all the Vietnam War draft evaders. During Carter's term as president, he created the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He also created a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter helped create the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and the return of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. However, the economy during his presidency was bad as it had stagflation, high inflation, high unemployment and slow economic growth. The end of his presidential term was remembered for the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1980, Carter ran against Senator Ted Kennedy in the Democratic primaries and won re-nomination at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. Carter lost the 1980 presidential election. He lost to the Republican nominee Ronald Reagan, who won in a huge victory. Polls of historians and political scientists usually see Carter as an below-average president. He became more popular for his humanitarian work after leaving office.

In 1982, Carter created the Carter Center to focus on human rights across the world. He traveled around the world to support peace talks, look over elections, and supported ending deadly diseases. In 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter was seen as an important person in the Habitat for Humanity charity. He wrote over 30 books from memoirs to poetry. Carter was the longest-lived president, the longest-retired president, the first to live forty years after their inauguration, and the first former president to reach the age of 100. Carter died on December 29, 2024 while in hospice care in Plains.