Former US President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral, capping nearly a week of national mourning for the former politician and humanitarian leader.
President Joe Biden delivered a memorial address in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning, less than two weeks until he leaves office.
Biden told mourners that Carter “never let political currents distract him from his mission to serve and shape the world.” “That person had character.”
Thursday’s funeral was attended by all of Carter’s living presidential heirs, including President-elect Donald Trump, who paid his respects at Carter’s casket in the Capitol Rotunda the day before.
Tributes have poured in since Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100, with political leaders praising him for his public service and decades of dedication to humanitarian work.
Although he served as president for only one term from 1977 to 1981, the former peanut farmer from Georgia left a lasting legacy in his post-presidential career.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for the work his organization, the Carter Center, did to fight Guinea worm disease in Africa and monitor elections around the world.
He was also deeply involved in building low-income housing through Habitat for Humanity, earning him acclaim across the political spectrum.
The six-day state ceremony that began in Plains, Ga., where Mr. Carter was born in 1924, lived most of his life, and died after 22 months in hospice care, will conclude Thursday.
Ceremonies have continued in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., since Mr. Carter’s death Tuesday.
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from outside the cathedral Thursday morning, said Carter’s legacy, like that of every other U.S. president, is not “black and white.”
“In 1977, he successfully negotiated the Camp David Accords, normalizing relations between Egypt and Israel… He also wanted to make the American government more benevolent and more considerate of ordinary people. ,” Fisher said.
Fisher said other observers would note that Carter did not condemn apartheid in South Africa or speak out against atrocities in El Salvador or other foreign policy issues during his presidency. added.
“So the story gets complicated. But people remember the work he did afterwards at the Carter Center, when he tried to promote democracy, when he negotiated settlements in some of the hottest hotspots in the world.” “I would point out the work I did at the time,” Fisher said.
“He declared Israel an apartheid state. He also talked about Nicolas Maduro. Even though the U.S. government said his first election was fraudulent, (Carter) was free He claimed that he had won a fair election.
“He was always willing to speak out, and that legacy will be honed here at the National Cathedral. He was a statesman who accomplished much more in the White House than he did in his four years there. He’s a man.”
Politicians, diplomats and other celebrities from around the world are expected to attend Thursday’s funeral, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and slain US civil rights leader Martin. This includes Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King.
“He set a very high bar for the president: how much voice and leadership can he provide for a cause,” Gates said of Carter in an interview with The Associated Press this week.
Bernice King also likened the former president to her father, saying the two “taught us what is possible when our faith compels us to live and lead with love at the center.”
At the cathedral, Ted Mondale, son of Carter Vice President Walter Mondale, read the eulogy his father wrote for Carter before his death in 2021.
Steve Ford, the grandson of President Gerald Ford, read a eulogy from his grandfather, who passed away in 2006. Mr. Carter defeated Mr. Ford in 1976, but the two and the first lady became close friends, and Mr. Carter eulogized Mr. Ford at his funeral.
Mr. Carter’s White House aide, Stu Eisenstat, also spoke, as did the former president’s grandson, Jason Carter.
After a morning service in Washington, D.C., Carter’s remains, her four children and relatives will return to her home state of Georgia for an afternoon funeral.
Mr. Carter will be buried on his family’s land next to Rosalynn, to whom he was married for more than 77 years.
