Former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral will be held on January 9 at the Washington National Cathedral, part of a national day of mourning for the longest-serving president of the United States.
Walter Mondale, Carter’s former vice president, intended to eulogize his former boss, but he died in 2021. Mondale’s son plans to read a eulogy at the funeral, according to the New York Times.
More details are emerging about how the country will honor the world-renowned philanthropist, who died Sunday, aged 100, at his home in Plains, Georgia.
There will also be public events in Atlanta, Georgia, before Carter is buried on the Plains, according to the Carter Center.
Following the US tradition of marking the death of important people and leaders, President Joe Biden has ordered US flags at state headquarters to be flown at half-staff for 30 days. The period will include the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Carter family said they “accepted with respect and gratitude” the invitation from the US Congress for Carter to lie in state in the US Capitol building. Traditionally, this is a public viewing where people will post to pay their respects, including lawmakers and elites as well as everyday Americans.
Carter will be buried in his family plot, next to his wife, Rosalynn, who died at the age of 96 in November 2023.
Biden requested that January 9 be used to honor the 39th president of the United States, James Earl Carter Jr.
“He represents the best of America: A servant of God and a humble people,” he said in a statement.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that while he and Carter disagreed philosophically, Carter was “a really good man” and he had “the highest respect” for him.
Other American leaders have also issued statements praising Carter’s life and work, including former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush.
Former President Barack Obama said that Carter “taught us all what it means to live a life of kindness, dignity, justice and service”.
Carter, a former Georgia peanut farmer turned Naval officer turned US president, served from 1977-1981.
While in the White House, he championed the causes of world peace, the environment and human rights, and later received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
One of his most notable achievements in office was the brokering of a Middle East peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
However, Carter’s success as president was marked by the collapse of the US economy and what he called the “crisis of self-doubt”.
He served only one term in the White House and lost badly to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Much of Carter’s legacy was built from his post-presidential life.
He continued to work for world peace and met with international leaders; founded the Carter Center, a non-profit organization launched to help end disease; and, well into her 90s, worked with Habitat for Humanity to help build and repair homes.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of President Carter, and our prayers are with the Carter family,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International.
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