Joe Biden and Donald Trump lead tributes

Joe Biden and Donald Trump paid tribute to former US President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, who has died at the age of 100.

Carter, the longest-serving president in history, died Sunday afternoon at their home in Plains, Georgia.

Biden described him as “a man of wisdom, faith and humility,” while Trump said all Americans owe Carter a “debt of gratitude.”

Carter rose from peanut farmer to President in 1977, before being forced out of the White House shortly after Ronald Reagan won the 1981 election.

After leaving the White House with little recognition, his reputation was restored through humanitarian work that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Today, America and the world have lost an extraordinary leader, politician and humanitarian,” President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement.

“For all the young people in this country and for everyone who is looking for the meaning of living a life of purpose and meaning — a good life — study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” they added.

“He showed that we are a great nation because we are good people – noble and dignified, brave and kind, humble and strong.”

President-elect Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Jimmy’s challenges as president came at a critical time in our country and he did everything he could to improve the lives of the American people.

“For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

World leaders also paid tribute to Carter.

King Charles III said “his dedication and humility inspired many people, and I remember fondly his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977”.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Carter was “inspired by his strong convictions and principles” and that he had “demonstrated leadership and a strong commitment to justice and human rights at home and abroad”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Carter “was a leader who worked at a time when Ukraine was not yet independent, but his heart stood with us in our fight for independence”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said “he has worked hard for the rights of the most vulnerable people and has been tirelessly fighting for peace”.

Before becoming president in 1977, Democrat Carter was the governor of Georgia, a lieutenant in the US Army and a farmer.

Carter’s administration will be remembered for his difficult handling of the economic crisis and several foreign policy issues, including the Iran hostage crisis, which ended with the deaths of eight Americans.

However, there was a great success in foreign policy in the Middle East when he helped restore the agreement between Egypt and Israel, signed at Camp David in the US in 1978.

But that seemed unremarkable two years later, when voters elected Republican Ronald Reagan, who portrayed the president as a weak leader unable to deal with inflation and high interest rates.

Carter lost the 1980 election, winning only six US states including Washington DC.

After leaving the White House, he became the first and only president to return full-time to his pre-political home – a modest, two-bedroom ranch house.

He chose not to follow up on the lucrative after-dinner speeches and press releases that await many former presidents, I told the Washington Post in 2018that he didn’t really want to be rich.

Instead, he spent his remaining years trying to solve the world’s problems of inequality and disease.

He founded the Carter Center in 1982 to fulfill his vision of international dialogue, and received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts with the foundation to promote human rights around the world.

He also collaborated with Nelson Mandela to found The Elders, a group of world leaders dedicated to working for peace and human rights.

Carter is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

His wife, Rosalynn, of 77 years, died in November 2023.

Announcing his death, Carter’s son Chip said his father was “a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and selfless love”.

“I and my brothers, my sister, shared the whole world with him through similar beliefs. This country is our family because of the way it brought people together.

As of 2018 with the death of George HW Bush, Carter was the longest-serving US president.

Carter stopped receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness last year and instead began receiving treatment at home. He had health problems including melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain.

Another leading tribute came from Barack Obama, who reflected on Carter’s life, saying that he “taught us all what it means to live a life of grace, honor, justice, and service”.

Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where Carter taught Sunday school into his 90s, “will be quiet on Sunday,” Obama said.

“But President Carter will not be far away – laid beside Rosalynn by the willow tree down the road, her memory calls us all to listen to our better angels.”

Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also spoke of Carter’s faith.

“President Carter lived to serve others – to the end,” he said in a statement.