WASHINGTON - Jimmy Carter, the 100-year-old former US president and Nobel peace laureate who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to lead the nation from 1977 to 1981, has died, his nonprofit foundation said.
Carter had been in hospice care since mid-February 2023 at his home in Plains, Georgia -- the same small town where he was born and once ran a peanut farm before becoming governor of the Peach State and running for the White House.
Carter died "peacefully" at his home in Plains, "surrounded by his family," the Carter Center said in a statement.
"My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love," Chip Carter said in the statement.
Outside the White House, where the flag was lowered to half-staff, tourist Yoni Neirman remembered Carter as a leader "who tried to do good things for this country and for people."
"I think he was a real statesman, and that kind of person doesn't seem to exist, at least not in the near future," the Vermont resident said, adding that Carter was the first president she ever voted for.
Carter was the longest-lived US president -- an outcome that seemed unlikely back in 2015 when the Southern Democrat revealed he had brain cancer.
But the US Navy veteran and fervent Christian repeatedly defied the odds to enjoy a long and fruitful post-presidency, after four years in the Oval Office often seen as disappointing.
During his single term, Carter placed a commitment on human rights and social justice, enjoying a strong first two years that included brokering a peace deal between Israel and Egypt dubbed the Camp David Accords.
But his administration hit numerous snags -- the most serious being the taking of US hostages in Iran and the disastrous failed attempt to rescue the 52 captive Americans in 1980. He also came in for criticism for his handling of an oil crisis.
Carter, known for his toothy smile, said basic Christian tenets such as justice and love served as the bedrock of his presidency. He taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist, his church in Plains, well into his 90s.
In recent years, he had received various hospital treatments, including when he revealed in August 2015 that he had brain cancer and was undergoing radiation.
As condolences came in, many focused on Carter's character, with President Joe Biden, in televised remarks, saying he "lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds."
"The rest of the world looks to us... and he was worth looking to."
White House leaders past and future joined Biden in issuing remembrances, with Bill Clinton saying in a statement that Carter "worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world."
George W. Bush said Carter's legacy would "inspire Americans for generations," and Barack Obama said the former leader "taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service."
Donald Trump said Americans owed the Democrat "a debt of gratitude," later adding, in a second social media post, that "I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically."