Six-day state funeral for Jimmy Carter begins

The United States’ tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, began Saturday in his native state of Georgia, opening a ballet of ceremonies until the day of national mourning on January 9.

Democratic President from 1977 to 1981, Jimmy Carter leaves the international image of a peacemaker whose humanitarian commitment after his only mandate was crowned by a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Upon the announcement of his death, tributes poured in from all over the world.

The six-day ceremony kicked off at 10:15 a.m. Saturday (4:15 p.m. in Switzerland), when Secret Service agents, responsible for protecting political figures, carried his coffin. The convoy will first travel through Plains, the former president’s hometown to which he was so attached, then part of Georgia. The tribute will culminate on January 9 in Washington.

In front of the family farm where he grew up, the bell will ring 39 times, in tribute to the 39th American head of state that he was. Then head to Atlanta, capital of Georgia, with a moment of contemplation in front of the Capitol of this southeastern state, where he was a local senator before becoming governor.

Then the hearse will arrive at the Carter Center, the foundation created in 1982 by the former president and his wife Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023 at age 96. His commitment to this foundation, specializing in conflict prevention, the defense of democracy and public health issues around the world, earned him a warm tribute from the head of the World Health Organization.

From 7 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, Americans are invited to pay their respects before the remains of the former president. On Tuesday morning, his family will accompany the late Jimmy Carter aboard the official plane called “Special Air Mission 39”, heading to Washington. A convoy will take him to the US Navy Memorial, the US Navy. Jimmy Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946 and later became a submariner.

Arranged on a box, his coffin will be pulled by a horse during a funeral procession at 2 p.m. towards the Capitol, seat of Congress in the capital. The deceased will be transported by soldiers to the Rotunda, a room located below the dome of the Capitol, for a tribute ceremony at 3:00 p.m. in the presence of parliamentarians. His remains will then be exhibited and the public is invited to come and pay their respects from 7:00 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, then from 7:00 a.m. Wednesday to 7:00 a.m. Thursday. He will be the 13th former president to be put on display at the Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in 1865, was the first.

Outgoing President Joe Biden, 82, will deliver the eulogy for the man whose “righteousness” he celebrated. His successor, Republican Donald Trump, 78, far from being favored by Jimmy Carter, announced his presence. In tribute, American flags were flown at half-mast for 30 days, including January 20, angering the president-elect, who said Friday that “no one wanted to see” this during his inauguration ceremony. Living former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are also expected to attend.

The coffin will then board the same “Special Air Mission 39” for the deceased’s final journey to Georgia. A private funeral will be held at a Baptist church in Plains at 3:45 p.m. The public is invited to watch the convoy pass through his hometown of around 600 people. Shortly after arriving at the Carter residence, US Navy planes will fly over his beloved city in tribute to this former submariner, who became – as president – ​​commander in chief of the armed forces. He will be buried at 5:20 p.m., privately, alongside the woman who was his wife for 77 years.