Former US President Jimmy Carter turns 100

Photo: Chandan Khanna Agence France-Presse The small town of Plains, in the southeastern United States, is preparing to celebrate in style Tuesday the 100th birthday of its “hero” Jimmy Carter, former American president and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Becca Milfeld – Agence France-Presse in Plains, Georgia

Published at 0:38

• United States

A flypast, concert, ceremony: the small town of Plains, in the southeastern United States, is preparing to celebrate in style on Tuesday the 100th birthday of its “hero” Jimmy Carter, former American president and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Born on October 1, 1924 in this small rural town in Georgia, with about 600 inhabitants, the former leader had grown peanuts there for a time before turning to politics.

After leaving the White House, he returned to live there and will celebrate his centenary on Tuesday with his family at his home, where he has been receiving end-of-life care since February 2023.

That won't stop Plains residents from celebrating this special anniversary in their own way, as Jimmy Carter becomes the first American president to reach the centenary mark.

The festivities include an evening concert at the Democrat's former high school, a naturalization ceremony for 100 people and a flypast of military aircraft.

As the architect of the Camp David Accords that led to the signing of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, Jimmy Carter occupies a special place in the American political landscape, tarnished by the hostage crisis Americans in Iran in 1979-1980.

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“A good man”

“Jimmy is a good man, a godly man, and that's what people like about him,” Carl Lowell, a Plains resident, told AFP.

The 59-year-old retired firefighter, who says he has gone hunting with Carter, says he steers clear of politics, which he considers “too divisive” a subject.

Photo: Alex Brandon Agence France-Presse Jimmy Carter, November 29, 2023, in Plains, Georgia

In Plains, everyone seems to be connected to the 39th President of the United States.

“It's a blessing to have him here,” said Inez Battle, 72.

The former leader, who also served as governor of Georgia, was instrumental in establishing a local children’s center where she volunteered, she said.

That facility did much to benefit the African-American community, said Battle, who fondly recalls meetings with Carter. “Instead of saying, ‘We’re going to do this,’ he would ask for your opinion.” »

National tributes to Jimmy Carter have already begun to pour in, with President Joe Biden calling the former Democratic president a “moral force” in a video statement released over the weekend.

“Your commitment to a better world and your unwavering belief in the power of human kindness continue to guide us,” he said.

Jimmy Carter, who created his foundation in 1982 to promote development, health and conflict resolution around the world, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his “tireless efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.”

November election

The former leader remains very interested in politics, according to his close friends, to whom he has confided that he wants to “hold on so he can vote for Kamala Harris” in the November election that will pit him against former Republican President Donald Trump.

“He's going to vote by mail,” Jill Stuckey, who is in charge of several historical sites linked to the former president and a long-time friend of the family, told AFP. Carter.

In the gardens of Plains, however, the signs supporting the Republican Donald Trump outnumber those for the Democrat Kamala Harris.

A departure that is not very surprising in this rural region, where the white evangelical population is large.

But, a particularity of Plains: here, it is not uncommon to see the names of Trump and Carter coexist. Here and there, signs celebrating the centennial of the former Democratic president and others calling for a vote for the Republican in November are thus placed side by side.