French President Emmanuel Macron joined world leaders to pay tribute to former United States president Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, aged 100.
Flags are flying half-mast in the United States, which will hold a national day of mourning for Carter on 9 January, announced President Joe Biden.
Carter was “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” who “saved, lifted and changed the lives of people all across the globe,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
President-elect Donald Trump, who Carter had called an "illegitimate president", said Americans owe Carter "a debt of gratitude".
"While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realised that he truly loved and respected our country," Trump wrote on social media.
Peace activism
In one of the first reactions from abroad, French President Emmanuel Macron said Carter had "been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace".
Uniquely among modern US presidents, much of Carter's legacy came after he left the White House.
His one-term presidency, from January 1977 to January 1981, was marked by the 1978 Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, bringing some stability to the Middle East, but it was hampered by the Iran hostage crisis that dominated his final year in office.
During his term in office, the country faced an economic recession, and Carter was persistently unpopular, and lost reelection in a landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan
Post White House legacy
After leaving office, Carter gained global acclaim as an advocate for human rights and a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty, winning the respect that eluded him in the White House.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development".
The Carter Center, which he established in his home state of Georgia, has championed democracy and global health, observing elections in dozens of countries and virtually eradicating guinea worm, a painful infectious parasite.
Carter had several health issues in recent years, including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain, and instead of undergoing additional medical intervention, he decided to receive hospice care in February 2023.
His outlived his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died on 19 November 2023, at the age of 96, and is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
(with newswires)
