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Biden declares day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter

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  • Biden declares day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter
  • December 30, 2024
  • Article Body Text Washington — <p>President Joe Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter and announced Monday that all federal government offices would be closed that day as a show of respect for the 39th U.S. president, who died Sunday at the age of 100.</p> <p>“I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.,” Biden said in a formal declaration issued late Sunday. “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”</p> <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/5a39b027-f061-43be-9180-547d1bf7642c_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Joe Biden speaks about the death of former President Jimmy Carter, Dec. 29, 2024, at the Company House Hotel in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.</figcaption></figure> <p>Biden inadvertently <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/03/13/remarks-by-president-biden-at-a-democratic-national-committee-reception-3/" target="_self">revealed</a>, in March of last year at a national Democratic party event, that Carter – also a Democrat – had asked him to deliver his eulogy.</p> <p>In his s<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/29/proclamation-announcing-the-death-of-james-earl-carter-jr/" target="_self">tatement late Sunday</a>, Biden described Carter as “a man of character, courage, and compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as one of the most influential statesmen in our history.”</p> <p>He continued: “He embodied the very best of America: A humble servant of God and the people. A heroic champion of global peace and human rights, and an honorable leader whose moral clarity and hopeful vision lifted our nation and changed our world.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/in-photos-tribute-to-former-president-jimmy-carter/7918749.html"><h3>In photos: Tribute to former President Jimmy Carter</h3></a></p><section class="type: slideshow"> <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/b19296a7-879d-4920-95a1-460fb66bd6d6_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>The flag over the White House flies at half-staff following the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in Washington, Dec. 30, 2024. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/78e32939-2b12-4118-93ef-5bbf1312144f_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the death of former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100, at the Company House Hotel, in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dec. 29, 2024.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/4127a333-195b-4396-95e9-a973ee481cb6_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>A montage of the frontpages of some Britain&#39;s newspapers featuring reaction to death of the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in London, Dec. 30, 2024.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/a900b949-6577-445b-9f9f-33d7c07ceb19_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>With the U.S. Capitol in the distance, flags fly at half-staff at the Washington Monument on the National Mall following the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in Washington, Dec. 30, 2024.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/3503dfe4-e614-40d7-aad6-ceba50c9ace2_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Jumbe Sebunya of Eswatini pays his respects to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100, by the sign of The Carter Presidential Center, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 30, 2024. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/3014f7c9-45bd-43a2-b5c7-f44dfe833e77_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Flowers, peanuts and a candle lie by The Carter Presidential Center&#39;s sign, after the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the age of 100, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 29, 2024. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/2bf044e1-65e4-479b-a547-8e20e2b91d43_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>A statue of a peanut in honor of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who was a peanut farmer, stands in Plains, Georgia, Dec. 30, 2024. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/df5649bb-fd04-4531-a1df-3202c8dfd5a5_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Flags fly at half-mast for the late former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Downing Street, in London, Dec. 30, 2024.</figcaption></figure></section> <p>The solemn event Jan. 9 in the nation’s capital will draw all the living American presidents and a host of dignitaries. Biden also ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff for 30 days from the date of Carter’s death at public buildings, military posts and overseas U.S. government buildings.</p> <p>Biden has bestowed upon Carter a state funeral, which is a three-stage, multi-day event coordinated by the U.S. military that includes observances in the capital, plus ceremonies in the home state of the deceased.</p> <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-b5d1-08db1513cd99_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter pose for a photo with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the home of the Carter&#39;s in Plains, Georgia, April 30, 2021.</figcaption></figure> <p>Carter has repeatedly expressed his wish to be buried in his front yard in the small town of Plains, Georgia beside his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn. She died in 2023. Carter was in hospice care for two years before his own death, and his death at 100 made him the longest-living former president in U.S. history.</p> <p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/in-photos-legacy-of-jimmy-carter-39th-president-of-united-states/6974239.html"><h3>In Photos: A look back at the life of President Jimmy Carter</h3></a></p><section class="type: slideshow"> <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-3cbf-08db14f61aad_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Gov. Jimmy Carter, holding daughter Amy, and Rosalynn Carter, right, listen while Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox makes his acceptance speech, Jan. 12, 1971, Atlanta, Georgia.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-89ac-08db150d2db2_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Jimmy Carter, left, talks and President Gerald Ford, right, listens during the third presidential debate at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, Oct. 22, 1976.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-dcc7-08db14f61ab8_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Chief Justice Warren Burger administers the oath of office to Jimmy Carter (R) as the 39th President of the United Sates, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 1977.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-5a0c-08db150d434e_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Jimmy Carter, left, is dwarfed by a turbo generator at the Westinghouse Corp. plant, east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jan. 30, 1977 where he went to emphasize the serious fuel shortage.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-4179-08db14f641fc_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Jimmy Carter, the Shah of Iran, Empress Farah and Mrs. Roslynn Carter on the balcony at the White House in Washington, Nov. 15, 1977.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/11efcf2a-17d4-4efa-a998-755a78dc2268_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>U.S. President Jimmy Carter, right, and Britain&amp;#39;s Queen Elizabeth II are photographed with French President Valery Giscard d&amp;#39;Estaing, at Buckingham Palace in London, May 1977.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/0c769e9c-3622-4749-a4ec-986954a75fbd_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Jimmy Carter and Chinese Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-ping hold hands outside the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 30, 1979.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-8da2-08db14f64ac5_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>(from left to right) Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House in Washington, after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, March 26, 1979.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-adbd-08db14f62b1e_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Jimmy Carter bows his head during a Prayer Service at Washington Cathedral, Nov. 15, 1979, for the American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-55d6-08db14f6231b_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Six Americans who escaped from Iran with the help of the Canadian government meet with President Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office in Washington, Feb. 1, 1980. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-8249-08db14f645a7_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces new sanctions against Iran in retaliation for taking American hostages, at the White House, Washington, D.C., April 7, 1980.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-20da-08db14f62ad7_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>President Jimmy Carter uses an Indian quill pen to sign H.R.7919 the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 at a ceremony at the White House, Oct. 10, 1980.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/c3018e5c-8b26-47e4-a64b-9d1baa24ce60_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>U.S. President Jimmy Carter and California Governor Ronald Reagan during a U.S. presidential election debate in Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 28, 1980. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-48fd-08db14f622fc_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Jan. 21, 1981, in Wiesbaden, Germany, arrives at the U.S. Air Force hospital here to greet the hostage released by Iran after 445 days of captivity.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-976c-08db151d5552_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>After seven hours of talks at the Bosnian Serb headquarters in Pale, Bosnia, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, Bosnia Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, left, and Bosnian Serb army Commander Ratko Mladic, right, signed a declaration proposing a four-month ceasefire in the Bosnian war, Dec. 19, 1994.&amp;nbsp;</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-6974-08db14f63321_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, Sept. 22, 2009.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-4ca0-08db14f6318e_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>FILE - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks with a polling official at a polling station outside Juba, southern Sudan, April 13, 2010. Carter&amp;#39;s organization, the Carter Center, deployed a team of observers for the elections. Widespread problems with voting prompted Sudanese authorities to extend the voting period from three to five days.&amp;nbsp;</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-2f95-08db151d5b47_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (L) talk during a meeting in Havana, March 30, 2011. The woman in the center is a translator. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-5364-08db1511abab_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, left, looks on as former President Jimmy Carter and grandson Errol, 4, look at a birthday cake during his 90th birthday celebration held at Georgia Southwestern University, Oct. 4, 2014, in Americus, Georgia.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-20dd-08db14f63ee5_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter speaks during a campaign stop as his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn, left, look on, Oct. 27, 2014, in Columbus.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/82aded5f-6169-4ef8-a0fb-927a6aface0b_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former President Barack Obama, speaks as fellow former Presidents, from left, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton look on during a hurricanes relief concert in College Station, Texas, Oct. 21, 2017. </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/c5fe6b76-f6a2-45fa-959f-8a6f0b98fbb2_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former President Jimmy Carter holds hands with his wife Rosalynn Carter as they work with other volunteers for Habitat for Humanity in Mishawaka, Indiana, Aug. 27, 2018. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune)</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-b5d1-08db1513cd99_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter pose for a photo with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the home of the Carter&amp;#39;s in Plains, Georgia, April 30, 2021.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-29de-08db15118398_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>Amy Carter, left, raises her glass during a toast to her parents former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary, July 10, 2021, in Plains, Georgia.</figcaption></figure></section> <p>In Washington, services are likely to be held at the imposing Washington National Cathedral, which has played host to several previous state funerals, including that of former presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.</p> <p>Carter’s funeral is likely to be attended by all four living American presidents — that list includes Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, former and future President Donald Trump, and Biden. Biden, at 82, is now the eldest statesman of that group.</p>
  • Content Type Text
  • Language English
  • NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
  • Subtitles / Dubbing Available No
  • Network VOA
  • Embargo Date December 30, 2024 15:51 EST
  • Byline Anita Powell
  • Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English
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