Joe Biden led US presidents and other world leaders in paying tribute Sunday to Jimmy Carter who died aged 100.
“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian,” President Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
“He saved, lifted and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”
To President-elect Donald Trump, 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.
Former president Bill Clinton, a Southern Democrat like Carter, said his predecessor had “worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.”
He added, in a joint statement with his wife and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, that Carter “lived to serve others — until the very end.”
To former president George W. Bush, Carter “dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency.”
And for former president Barack Obama, Carter “taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.”
Among other US politicians sharing their condolences, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Carter “taught us that the strength of a leader lies not in rhetoric but in action, not in personal gain but in service to others.”
Carter “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.
In one of the first reactions from abroad, French President Emmanuel Macron said Carter had “been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace.
“France sends its heartfelt thoughts to his family and to the American people,” he said.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted Carter’s post-presidency work with the nonprofit Carter Center “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.”
