United States: The country prepares to say goodbye to President Carter

The flags are at half-mast on Monday in the United States the day after the death at the age of 100 of Jimmy Carter, a former president with a mandate marred by failures but whose political life as a peacemaker and philanthropist was praised from all sides.

Joe Biden declared a day of national mourning on January 9 for the man who was president from 1977 to 1981, and ordered that American flags be flown at half-mast for a period of one month. Including therefore during the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington on January 20.

The Democratic president called on “all those who seek to know what it means to live a life that has purpose and meaning” to study that of Jimmy Carter, “a man of principle, faith and humility”. Joe Biden also ordered a national funeral with a ballet of ceremonies planned for six days.

A ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral

The body of the 39th President of the United States will first be transported through his small hometown of Plains, Georgia (southeast), with a stop planned in front of his parents’ peanut farm, where he grew up.

Then the convoy will head to Atlanta and the Georgia Capitol, where the remains will be on public display for several days.

Then head to Washington and Congress, where Americans will also be able to pay tribute to the former president in front of his remains until January 9, before a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral that morning.

“He truly loved and respected our country”

Not sure to see Donald Trump there, the future American president having denigrated Jimmy Carter’s mandate on numerous occasions.

“Even though I deeply disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our country,” the Republican declared on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

Jimmy Carter’s other successors in the White House also paid tribute to him, Barack Obama hailing him as a “remarkable” person, George W. Bush a “man of deep convictions”, while, for Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter ” worked tirelessly for a better and fairer world.

A “peacemaker who never stopped fighting”

The major American dailies made their front pages on his death, the New York Times calling him “a peacemaker who never stopped fighting”, and the Washington Post “a one-term president who shone after the White House “.

Illustration of the longevity of the first centenarian ex-president in American history, Jimmy Carter lived longer than certain journalists from the “Times” and “WaPo” who wrote — in anticipation — his obituary.

Internationally, praise has also poured in. Pope Francis highlighted Jimmy Carter’s commitment to peace, “motivated by a deep Christian faith.” A fight for peace and human rights also recognized by French President Emmanuel Macron, the British sovereign Charles III, and even Brazilian President Lula.

His wife died a year ago

The Carter Center, the former Democratic president’s foundation, announced Sunday that the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner had died “peacefully” the same day at his home in Plains, “surrounded by his family.”

His wife and faithful traveling companion, Rosalynn, died last year at the age of 96. She was buried in Plains after a national tribute. With an emaciated face, the ex-president was present there, for one of his rare public appearances in recent years.

After the ceremonies in Atlanta and Washington, Jimmy Carter will also be buried in Plains, where a flyover by Navy planes is planned. The first president to graduate from the Naval Academy, he had spent several years as a submariner.

Artisan of the Camp David Accords

Jimmy Carter was elected to the White House in 1976, in an America still marked by the Watergate scandal which had pushed President Richard Nixon to resign.

An architect of the Camp David agreements which led in 1979 to the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, he was strongly criticized in his country during the hostage-taking of Americans in Iran, which dashed his hopes of re-election . In 1982, after leaving the White House, Jimmy Carter founded the Carter Center.

The foundation fights in particular against numerous diseases and leads the program against Guinea worm disease, a parasitic disease mainly affecting Africa and now almost eradicated.

“Latest news”

Want to stay on top of the news? “24 Heures” offers you two appointments per day, directly in your email box. So you don’t miss anything that’s happening in your Canton, in Switzerland or around the world.

Other newsletters

Log in

Did you find an error? Please report it to us.

0 comments