Jimmy Carter: Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton celebrate life for former US President after his death at 100

World leaders including Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, have come together to express their sadness and admiration after former US President and Nobel Prize-winning peace campaigner, Jimmy Carter, died in Georgia.

Mr Carter was 100 years old and had spent time in and out of hospital this year before passing away at his home in Plains, Georgia after spending time in hospice care.

Anthony Albanese made a statement on Monday after the President’s passing and spoke glowingly about his years of service to encourage world peace and harmony.

“President Jimmy Carter gave a century of noble service to the country he loved, to the cause of peace and to the lives of people in need all around the world,” Prime Minister Albanese said on X.

“Jimmy Carter was a person of deep faith and a true humanitarian who dedicated his post-Presidential life to eradicating disease, preventing conflict, tackling poverty and campaigning for human rights.

“In all this, his late wife Rosalynn was always his essential partner and his strongest supporter.

“Former President Carter rose from humble beginnings to leave a remarkable legacy. Beyond being elected to the Presidency or being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Jimmy Carter’s legacy is best measured in lives changed, saved and uplifted.

“People living free from debilitating disease because of the work of The Carter Center. People with a safe home to call their own, thanks to all those he inspired to contribute to Habitat for Humanity. People spared the toll of conflict because of his tireless efforts as a negotiator.

“Our world is better a place for Jimmy Carter’s life and work. May he rest in eternal peace,” Mr Albanese concluded.

On February 18, The Carter Center issued a statement regarding the former president’s health, announcing he had begun hospice care.

“After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team.”

He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Rosalynn Carter who died on November 19, also at the couple’s home.

Jimmy Carter spent decades as a successful advocate for world peace and human rights, writing books, building homes for people in need and travelling the planet urging countries to come together in peace.

Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy, participated in the Navy’s fledgling nuclear-powered submarine program, and served two terms as a Georgia state senator and one as governor before he was elected to the White House.

He became the nation’s 39th president in 1977, defeating President Gerald Ford in the election more than two years after the Watergate scandal drove Richard Nixon from the Oval Office.

Peter Dutton spoke about Mr Carter’s relationship with Australia and his visit as the sitting US President.

“On behalf of the Coalition, I acknowledge the late President’s service to his nation and his efforts to forge a deeper relationship with Australia,” Mr Dutton said in statement.

“Motivated by a deep morality, he championed the cause of human rights, expanded social services and advocated for nuclear arms reduction.

“In 1977, President Carter negotiated two treaties which gave Panama control over its eponymous canal and ensured the neutrality of the waterway. In 1978, he brokered the Camp David Accords to secure peace between Egypt and Israel. And in 1979, he established official diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

“Malcom Fraser was the Prime Minister of Australia during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. When he visited the United States in June 1977, the President reflected warmly on our bilateral relationship … ‘it’s with a sense of assurance that because of our past friendships and sharing of challenge and opportunity that the future will bind us even closer to one another’.”

“In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.

“As we reflect on the life of President Jimmy Carter, our thoughts are with his children, his family, his Democratic Party colleagues and the American people.”

Mr Carter lived longer than any other US president, surpassing the late George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018 at age 94.

When he reached that milestone in March 2019, Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said he was still active.

“Both President and Mrs Carter are determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place,” Congileo said at the time. “Their tireless resolve and heart have helped to improve life for millions of the world’s poorest people.”

His one-term presidency was marked by the highs of the 1978 Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, bringing some stability to the Middle East. But it was dogged by an economy in recession, persistent unpopularity and the embarrassment of the Iran hostage crisis that consumed his final 444 days in office.

Carter left office profoundly unpopular but worked energetically for decades on humanitarian causes.

The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, based on the 1978 Camp David accords, ended a state of war between the two neighbours.

Carter brought Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland for talks. Later, as the accords seemed to be unravelling, Carter saved the day by flying to Cairo and Jerusalem for personal shuttle diplomacy.

The treaty provided for Israeli withdrawal from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and establishment of diplomatic relations. Begin and Sadat each won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.

By the 1980 election, the overriding issues were double-digit inflation, interest rates that exceeded 20 per cent and soaring gas prices, as well as the Iran hostage crisis that brought humiliation to America. These issues marred Carter’s presidency and undermined his chances of winning a second term.

On November 4, 1979, revolutionaries devoted to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, seized the Americans present and demanded the return of the ousted shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was backed by the United States and was being treated in a US hospital.

The American public initially rallied behind Carter. But his support faded in April 1980 when a commando raid failed to rescue the hostages, with eight US soldiers killed in an aircraft accident in the Iranian desert.

Carter’s final ignominy was that Iran held the 52 hostages until minutes after Reagan took his oath of office on January 20, 1981, to replace Carter, then released the planes carrying them to freedom.

US stock markets have historically closed for a day of mourning to honour the death of a president.

With AAP.