Washington, DC – Foreign Policy for America is deeply saddened by the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Our thoughts are with the Carter family, and we stand with every American in mourning the loss of the 39th president of the United States—a model public servant and a life-long champion of human rights, principled U.S. leadership, and philanthropy.
In a post-Vietnam, post-Watergate America, Jimmy Carter’s improbable ascent to, and tenure as president of the United States demonstrated how a politics of decency, and a foreign policy centered on peace and human rights, can deliver for the American people and the world. At home, President Carter’s actions in appointing a historic number of women and minority judges set the precedent that diversity and inclusion are core sources of American strength. And by working to protect swaths of American land and kick-start a clean energy transition, President Carter has better positioned the U.S. to address climate change today.
On issues of foreign policy, he will be remembered for overseeing the restoration of principled American leadership. The Camp David Accords have yielded decades of peace between Israel and Egypt. The Panama Canal Treaties strengthened ties between the U.S. and Latin America. His leadership in opening diplomatic relations with China, brokering the SALT II arms control agreement with the Soviet Union, and negotiating a resolution to the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis each highlight how diplomacy can be a powerful tool in peacefully engaging our adversaries.
Today, President Carter’s leadership offers insights into our own political moment. His demonstrated commitment to peace and human rights in U.S. foreign policy serves as a roadmap as we contend with the national security challenges of our time. Yet, it may be Jimmy Carter’s post-presidency that best highlights how democratic values and public service can make the world a better place. President Carter’s decades of tireless work to advance democracy, mitigate conflict, and promote public health around the globe has made us all healthier and more secure. Notably, through his work at the Carter Center, the world is poised to eradicate Guinea worm disease in the near future.
President Carter’s historic 1994 visit to Pyongyang, North Korea, staved off a potential nuclear conflict and offers hope for renewed peacemaking efforts on the Korean Peninsula today. Even as the United States confronts its own democratic shortcomings, it is again the integrity and faith in the American way of President Carter that offers us a path forward.
While we mourn the loss of such a great leader, let us also celebrate the extraordinary legacy and remarkable societal contributions made by President Jimmy Carter. May he rest in peace.
“President Jimmy Carter is the only president in American history who used the presidency as a steppingstone to greatness,” said Foreign Policy for America Board Chairman Ambassador Tod Sedgwick. “We will remember Carter for introducing human rights in American foreign policy, a principle that guides the U.S. today, and of course the historic Panama Canal Treaty. However, I believe his greatest accomplishment was that he was the only president since Jefferson who did not lose a single soldier in combat. We often laud wartime presidents, but should praise and honor Jimmy Carter as a president who kept us out of war. Through his presidency and his Carter Center in Atlanta, President Carter has left the world a far better place.”
“President Carter said it was the ‘historical birthright’ of Americans to respect human rights,” said Foreign Policy for America Board Member Elisa Massimino. “He didn’t mean that the United States was exceptionally ennobled; he was diligent in calling out American violations. Rather, he meant that respect for human rights was our country’s founding ideal, and we should judge ourselves as a nation by our fidelity to it.”
“Human Rights was a concept that was central to Jimmy Carter’s presidency and to his legacy,” said Foreign Policy for America Board Member Regina Montoya. “He elevated the banner for human rights in his foreign policy and made it an American trait”.
“I had the honor of knowing President Carter since serving as a national convention delegate for him from Georgia in 1980” said Foreign Policy for America Board Member David Worley. “His enduring legacy as a peacemaker remains deeply needed today.”
“Carter gave valuable impetus to the arms control initiatives of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon” said Foreign Policy for America Board Member Thomas Countryman. “The SALT II treaty was never ratified after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but was honored by both sides throughout the Reagan Administration, and paved the way for Reagan’s monumental agreements with Gorbachev.”
“Alongside his renowned work on democracy, human rights, and humanitarianism, President Carter was a steadfast advocate for gender equality, dedicating himself to uplifting the voices of women and girls worldwide” said Foreign Policy for America Board Member Stephenie Foster. “He will be deeply missed.”
“Historians may deliberate for years on the presidential legacy of Jimmy Carter – I have always especially appreciated his leadership in nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. No one can doubt the extraordinary character of this great American who devoted his life to public service,” said Foreign Policy for America Advisory Board Member Laura Kennedy. “My father served on the USS Pomfret with Lieutenant Carter the same year I was born in a naval hospital. I remember meeting President Carter when he came to the United Nations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights – how appropriate for a man who gave a new centrality to human rights in foreign policy.”
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