Joe Biden led US presidents and other world leaders in paying tribute Sunday to Jimmy Carter, who died aged 100.
“America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
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He added later in a televised address that Carter “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds.”
“We’d all do well to try and be a little more like Jimmy Carter.”
President-elect Donald Trump said Americans owe Carter “a debt of gratitude.”
“The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” he said on social media.
Among former US presidents, Bill Clinton said his predecessor had “worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.”
George W. Bush said Carter “dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency.”
Barack Obama hailed Carter for teaching “all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.”
- ‘Lover of democracy’ -
The 39th US president “was early to recognize that protecting our shared planet and promoting global public health were vital to national security interests,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Carter would be remembered “for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace, and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity.”
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World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted Carter’s post-presidency work with his foundation “saved countless lives and helped bring many neglected tropical diseases close to elimination.”
Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed Carter as “a lover of democracy and defender of peace,” noting his pressuring of Brazil’s dictatorship to release political prisoners.
“He criticized unilateral military action by superpowers and the use of killer drones,” Lula said. “He worked with Brazil to mediate conflicts in Venezuela and to help Haiti.”
“He will be remembered forever as a name that defends the idea that peace is the most important condition for development.”
Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised Carter as “a symbol of humanitarian efforts” for his role in brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords, which established peace between Egypt and its most serious adversary at the time, Israel.
US neighbors Canada and Mexico also joined in sending condolences, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying Carter “was always thoughtful and generous with his advice to me.”
Mexico’s ministry of foreign affairs called Carter’s death a “regrettable loss.”
Britain’s King Charles said Carter’s “dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many,” while Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to the US leader’s “lifelong dedication to peace.”
In Panama, where Carter reached an agreement to hand over the Panama Canal, then under US control, President Jose Mulino praised the Democrat for helping his country achieve “full sovereignty.”
Though many focused on his time in office, from 1977-1981, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted Carter’s “unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked aggression.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Carter had “been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace.
- ‘Look to the stars’ -
Carter’s legacy lies even beyond Earth, as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pointed out Sunday.
The space agency’s Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977 and still flying through the stars, carries a recorded message from Carter “that captures his core goodness and grace.”
Carter says in the recording: “This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings.
“We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations.”
Nelson, in a statement, added that “President Carter understood an important truth: that we find common ground when we look to the stars.”
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