Jimmy Carter, Former U.S. President, Dies at Age 100

COLOMBO (News 1st); The 39th President of the United State of America, Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as U.S. president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday. 

He was 100 years old.

A Democrat, he served as president from January 1977 to January 1981 after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 U.S. election. 

Carter was swept from office four years later in an electoral landslide as voters embraced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, the former actor and California governor.

Carter lived longer after his term in office than any other U.S. president. 

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a better former president than he was a president - a status he readily acknowledged.

His one-term presidency was marked by the highs of the 1978 Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, bringing some stability to the Middle East. 

But it was dogged by an economy in recession, persistent unpopularity and the embarrassment of the Iran hostage crisis that consumed his final 444 days in office.

In recent years, Carter had experienced several health issues including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. 

Carter decided to receive hospice care in February 2023 instead of undergoing additional medical intervention. 

His wife, Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96.