Published on Monday, December 30, 2024
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

Costa Rica extended its deepest condolences to the United States following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who served as the nation’s 39th president from 1977 to 1981.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed sympathy to the U.S. government and its people, honoring Carter’s legacy as a leader and advocate for peace and human rights.

Jimmy Carter, then governor of Georgia, visited Costa Rica in 1972 as part of his efforts to foster dialogue between anti-democratic groups and Latin American governments.

During a press conference at the Costa Rica Hotel in San José, Carter praised the country as “the best example of democracy in the world,” according to a report published at the time by La Nación newspaper.

The Ministry highlighted Carter’s efforts in "promoting peaceful resolutions to international conflicts, as well as his advocacy for democracy and human rights, work that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002," the statement added.

Carter, a peanut farmer and Georgia state governor before becoming president, has died at the age of 100.

When Carter took the oath of office as president of the United States on January 20, 1977, he promised a "government as good as its people."

According to a report published by Voice of America Journal (VOA), he presided over four turbulent years.

Rising inflation and growing unemployment marred the domestic priorities of his administration. He scored victories in foreign policy with a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel and the Panama Canal treaty. However, a hostage crisis in Iran dominated his final years in the White House and contributed to his defeat in the 1980 general election.

But Carter liked to say the end of his presidency in 1981 was the beginning of a new life, traveling the world "fighting disease, building hope, and waging peace."

"It has turned out to open up for me and my wife, Rosalynn, a new arena of excitement and unpredictability and adventure and challenge and gratification," he told VOA.

As the head of the Carter Center, the Carters traveled to more than 80 countries monitoring troubled elections, mediating disputes, and fighting diseases. This active post-White House life eventually led to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

"I look upon the Carter Center's work as an extension of what I tried to do as president. You know, we brought peace between Israel and Egypt. We opened up a humongous relationship with Latin America with the Panama Canal treaty," he said. "So what I have done since then has been kind of an extension. But I do not think there is any doubt that when I won the Nobel Peace Prize, for instance, it was because of the work of the Carter Center. So, I would be perfectly satisfied to have a legacy based on peace and human rights. I mean, who would not?"

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Carter’s “commitment to international peace and human rights.

“President Carter will be remembered for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace, and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity,” Guterres said in a statement. “His legacy as a peacemaker, human rights champion and humanitarian will endure.”

The White House released a statement from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday: “Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well.”

Biden also declared January 9, 2025, as a National Day of Mourning in honor of Carter and directed flags at public buildings to be displayed at half-staff for 30 days.

In one of his last public media appearances, Carter shared with VOA his hopes for the Carter Center’s future.

“I would like to see the United States in the future strive to be the number one champion in the world of peace and human rights and environmental quality, and I would say treating everyone equally,” he said. “If we could do that, we would have a real superpower in the country I love very much.”

Jimmy Carter lived the longest of any occupant of the White House, and his 76-year marriage to wife Rosalynn is the longest of any president and first lady.

Though his final resting place will be on the grounds of his home in Plains, Georgia, the work and the words of Carter live on in the pages of the dozens of books he authored throughout his life. It includes his memoirs, a fiction novel, controversial examinations of the Middle East, and a collection of his favorite poems.

Voice of America Journal, VOA, is a U.S. government news agency funded by the U.S. Congress.

----------------
What were Jimmy Carter's biggest challenges while president? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com