(Washington) Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter, 98, is in “hospice care” at his home, where he wants to “spend the time he has left” after a series of hospitalizations, said his foundation SATURDAY.
He is the oldest surviving American president.
“The Carter family wishes to maintain their privacy during this time and is grateful for the interest shown by their many supporters,” the foundation said in a statement.
Her grandson, Jason Carter, said he saw his “both grandparents yesterday.” “They are at peace, and as always, their home is full of love,” the former Georgia lawmaker tweeted.
Camp David Accords
Jimmy Carter was elected to the White House in 1976, in an America still marked by the Watergate scandal which had prompted President Nixon to resign. The Democrat served only one term as president.
PHOTO ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Former Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat (L) shakes hands with former Prime Minister Menachem Begin in front of Jimmy Carter at Camp David in 1978.
Craftsman of the Camp David agreements which led, in March 1979, to the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, he had been strongly criticized in his country during the taking of American hostages in Iran in 1979-80.
After leaving the White House, Jimmy Carter founded The Carter Center in 1982 to promote development, health, and conflict resolution around the world.
In 2002, he received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, in particular for “his decades of tireless efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts”.
The former tenant of the White House had already suffered from a series of health problems which had forced him to be hospitalized several times in 2019.
Biden’s visit
In April 2021, US President Joe Biden went to visit him in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he has resided since leaving Washington.
Jimmy Carter did not appear in front of reporters on this occasion, but his wife Rosalynn, who used a walker, was seen alongside the Biden couple.
The former president and his wife met in 1945 through the Democrat’s little sister, who was then a student at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and celebrated her 75th wedding anniversary last year.
In 1976, Joe Biden, then a young senator from Delaware, was one of the first elected officials to support Jimmy Carter in his race for the presidency.