Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, has died at age 100 after receiving hospice care for almost two years.
"Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, December 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family," the Carter Center in his home state of Georgia said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that "America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian."
Biden declared January 9, the day Carter's funeral will be held in Washington, D.C., as a national day of mourning.
Though his presidency was marked by his failure to rein in rampant inflation, revive the economy, and his inability to free dozens of Americans held captive at an embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, his life after office was celebrated for his humanitarian work around the world.
"God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes -- and we must," Carter said in his speech upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first former U.S. president to win the award.
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Carter's Troubled Presidency Turned Into Decades Of Service (Video)
Former President Barack Obama praised Carter's "decency," saying in a tribute the onetime peanut farmer who was raised in poverty "taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service."
President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that "the challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans."
The iconic Empire State Building in New York City was lit up in red, white, and blue to honor Carter.
Carter, a one-term leader, is remembered for having brokered a peace deal between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
But it was the Iranian hostage crisis that would come to define Carter's presidency from 1977 to 1981.
The Islamic Revolution in 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and brought to power a group of clerics led by exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Carter granted the ailing shah political asylum, to the anger of many Iranians.
In late 1979, a group of hard-line Iranian students who were believed to have had the tacit support of Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They demanded the return of the shah and an apology for past actions by the United States in Iran.
444 Days: Looking Back At The U.S.-Iran Hostage Crisis
Carter said the United States could not give in to the hostage-takers, and the crisis dragged on for over a year.
"It's vital to the United States and to every other nation that the lives of diplomatic personnel and other citizens abroad be protected, and that we refuse to permit the use of terrorism, and the seizure and the holding of hostages, to impose political demands,” he said.
“No one should underestimate the resolve of the American government and the American people in this matter."
With negotiations with the Iranians proving fruitless, Carter ordered U.S. Special Forces to try to rescue the American hostages in April 1980. The mission ended in disaster, and eight U.S. soldiers died in an accident caused by equipment failure.
Carter announced the failed rescue mission to the nation: "I share the disappointment of the American people that this rescue mission was not successful. And I also share the grief of our nation because we had Americans who were casualties in this effort to seek freedom for their fellow citizens who have been held hostage for so long.
"But I also share a deep pride in the commitment and courage and the integrity and the competence and determination of those who went on this mission."
The Iranian hostage crisis -- and Carter's inability to resolve it -- dominated the news in the United States throughout 1980, a presidential election year.
He was easily defeated in his reelection bid by Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor who had energized the Republican party with his smooth appearance and supply-side economic policies.
In a final insult to Carter, Iran decided to release the hostages on January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office and Reagan was inaugurated as president.
One of Carter's first goals after becoming president was to work on a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, known as SALT II, with the Soviet Union. The treaty was designed to further limit the number of nuclear weapons held by both countries.
Negotiating the treaty with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was difficult because of Carter's persistent criticism of Moscow's human rights record. But in June 1979 the two leaders signed SALT II. The U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, but its terms were honored by both sides.
In response to the Soviet invasion, the president announced what came to be known as the Carter Doctrine -- that the United States would defend its interests in the Persian Gulf with military force if necessary. The United States also boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
"I have given notice that the United States will not attend the Moscow Olympics unless the Soviet invasion forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan before February 20,” said Carter at the time. “That deadline is tomorrow, and it will not be changed."
Though his term in office is often characterized as a failure, Carter's presidency had its share of triumphs.
He established an effective national energy policy and encouraged the creation of 8 million new jobs, although at the cost of high inflation. He also improved the operation of the U.S. federal government through reform of the civil service.
Carter's greatest achievement as U.S. president was the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, brokered at the Camp David presidential retreat. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
Carter's wife, Rosalynn, died in November 2023, at age 96.