Johannesburg – Former US president Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.
The Carter Center announced that its founder, Jimmy Carter, passed away on Sunday Afternoon in Plains, Georgia. He passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family.
Commenting on the passing of the 39th US president, US President Joe Biden said on X: “For over six decades, Jill and I had the honor 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.
Biden added: “When I look at Jimmy Carter, I see a man not only for our times, but for all times.
“A man who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away.
“And while we may never see his likes again, we would all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter.”
Tributes have been pouring in from across the US and the world for the former US President.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of former United States President Jimmy Carter who we remember as an outstanding, compassionate leader and champion of human rights and peace globally”.
President Ramaphosa added: “Jimmy Carter was an outspoken critic of the apartheid state at a time when the regime was trying to ingratiate itself with influential economies around the world and justify its inhumane policies.
“Among his many distinguished roles, President Carter holds a special place in our history as a member of The Elders, a collective of global leaders brought together on President Nelson Mandela’s 89th birthday in 2007 to be independent moral voices for peace and leadership.”
President Carter’s record includes his engagement in diverse peace negotiations around the world and his unequivocal categorisation of the denial of fundamental human rights and statehood to the people of Palestine as a manifestation of apartheid.
President Ramaphosa said President Carter justly deserved the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for “his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”.
“We celebrate his legacy, his extended lifetime, and his enduring ideas.
