On March 22, former President Jimmy Carter became America’s longest-living president, surpassing George H.
W. Bush. This is because Carter will be 94 years and 172 days old on that day which is a day older than the elder Bush was when he died last November.
In 2017, Bush Sr. himself became the longest-living president in US history
Not many former presidents have lived beyond 90 years. Besides Bush Sr. and Carter, only former President Ronald Reagan, who was Carter’s successor, is on the list by living until 93.
Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center, told CNN, “He and Mrs. Carter take walks, and they have followed a healthy diet for a lifetime.”
“Both President and Mrs. Carter are both determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place, and millions of the world’s poorest people are grateful for their resolve and heart,” she added.
When he left the White House, Carter established the Carter Center and was awarded the Nobel Prize. Habitat for Humanity homes was also his brainchild and he wrote more than two dozen books.
The Carter Center is a human rights and anti-poverty organization and said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “We at the Carter Center sure are rooting for him and are grateful for his long life of service that has benefited millions of the world’s poorest people.”
Habitat for Humanity, the nation’s most prominent housing charity, has also enjoyed the active support of Carter and his wife Rosalynn ever since they left the White House.
They even announced last year that they will join the organization for volunteer work in Nashville later in 2019.
George Washington, America’s founding president, was the youngest former president to die. He passed away at 57 years and 67 days in April 1789, roughly three years after leaving office.
Carter, the son of a Georgia peanut farmer, was 52 years old when he was elected the 39th president in 1976.
Even during his presidency, Carter already became known as an international human rights champion. He was at the forefront of the Camp David Accords when he brokered the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978.
The Iran hostage crisis also happened during his presidency and his administration put in the first efforts toward developing an energy independence policy.
In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Carter Center which seeks to promote human rights worldwide.
Metastatic melanoma was detected in Carter’s liver in 2015 and had spread to his brain. But six months after the diagnosis he announced that a groundbreaking medication that trains the immune system to fight cancer tumors made cancer treatment unnecessary.
Two years later, he was hospitalized for dehydration while he was in Canada building homes with Habitat for Humanity. After he was discharged, he went back to the work site the next day.
Carter has also gone around the world for elections and cooperated with the Carter Center to eradicate diseases.
Recommended Video!
“Politicians pay their respects to Former President George H.W. Bush”