James Earl Carter Jr. served a single term as the 39th president of the United States, but despite his short tenure, he had the most extensive post-presidential career in U.S. history, lasting from 1981 until his death in 2024.
Carter was a peanut farmer before his presidency and placed the family farm in a blind trust when he took office. But it was heavily in debt when he returned, so Carter generated income through writing. He published more than 30 books from memoirs and nonfiction to children’s books and historical novels.
The first major achievement of Carter’s post-presidential career was the 1982 founding of The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting human rights.
The center would go on to operate a broad range of initiatives worldwide, often working with the United Nations. One of its most prominent roles has been election monitoring, having observed and produced reports on elections in 40 countries as a neutral organization unaffiliated with the U.S. government.
The Carter Center would also become known for its public health and agricultural assistance programs. Among these are ongoing efforts to combat river blindness and trachoma in developing nations by distributing medication and building toilet facilities. A major accomplishment has been the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease in Africa — the first such eradication achieved without any pharmaceuticals.
Carter himself continued to travel extensively to promote diplomatic efforts, both as a private citizen and as an unofficial negotiator for the United States. During the Ronald Reagan administration, he traveled to the Middle East to support the continuation of the Camp David Accords that his administration had brokered between Egypt and Israel, and he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to advance the peace process.
Carter helped to secure a temporary ceasefire during the Yugoslav Wars, and in 1994, went to North Korea at the request of President Bill Clinton to negotiate a treaty governing nuclear non-proliferation. He would later return to North Korea in 2010 to secure the release of Aijalon Gomes, an American citizen who had illegally crossed into the country.
Along with his wife, Rosalynn, Carter was also known for his work withHabitat for Humanity, an international charity dedicated to building affordable housing for low-income families around the world.
After first volunteering for the organization in 1984, the Carters launched an annual work project where they would personally participate alongside volunteers on a particular building site. Carter served on the organization’s board from 1984 to 1987.
Carter’s work in human rights and social justice has been widely praised and earned him the 1998 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, as well the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, making him the third U.S. president to receive the honor.
However, Carter has also been criticized for alleged anti-Israel bias in his statements and writings on the Middle East, and for labeling Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid in his bestselling yet controversial 2006 book on the subject.
Carter was the longest-lived U.S. president, remaining active well into his 90s until his eventual death at 100. While his four-year presidency has often been considered a mediocre one by historians, his post-presidency set a standard that will be difficult to surpass.
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