As an Ex-President, Jimmy Carter Fought for Peace

Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. After leaving office in 1981, he enjoyed the longest retirement of any president in history, at just over 42 years.

Recent tributes have consistently described Carter as a decent, dedicated public servant; a long time Sunday school teacher who built houses with Habitat for Humanity. A modest man who lived modestly and who, unlike his successors, did not get rich

But this narrative is at odds with Carter’s quietly radical approach to the post-presidency. Passionately advocating peace and playing an active role in international diplomacy, Carter set a respected standard for how politicians can serve the public long after leaving office. As an ex-president, he did more to protect peace than most politicians in their entire careers.

President Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, founded the Carter Center in 1982 with the express mission of alleviating human suffering. The center “works for peace” through global conflict resolution, human rights promotion and monitoring more than 100 elections in almost 40 countries. Quoted by the Nobel Committee these efforts made Carter the first former US president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. (Other presidents have received the award, but all while in office.)

His commitment to peace made Carter the top envoy to North Korea for decades. In 1994, he and Rosalyn were The first people to cross the demilitarized zoneafter the Korean War – and President Carter held talks with President Kim that defused escalating nuclear tensions. He went again in 2010 on behalf of the Obama administration to secure the release of an American prisoner, after North Korea specifically requested his presence. He even offered to represent the Trump administrationalthough, of course, they did not take him for it.

In 2007, he co-founded The Elders, a group of statesmen who advocate for world peace and human rights, along with former Irish President Mary Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African President Nelson Mandela. Carter played a key role in the group’s inaugural trip to Sudan to draw attention to the war in Darfur. Later he headed a delegation to Israel and Palestine in support of the decision to create two states, and in 2015 he met with President Vladimir Putin Russia to discuss, including, the conflict in Ukraine.

Carter took positions that few American elected officials, let alone former presidents, would dare to take. In his 2006 book Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid, he accused Israel of human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory. The book caused outrage – he faced accusations of anti-Semitism, condemnation herem leaders within their party, and resignations from the Carter Center— but Carter stood firm. (Years later, Steve Berman, who oversaw those resignations, would write a letter to apologize the president for it. Carter responded with a handwritten note insisting that an apology was unnecessary, that he understood how his critics had reacted, and that Berman would be happy to return to the Center.)

Carter was also not shy about criticizing his successors. In 2016 New York Times op-edhe called on President Barack Obama to recognize the state of Palestine. He published another a year earlier, criticizing Obama’s call for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In this article, he recalled how he intervened when the U.S. recalled ambassadors from Syria, and he perfectly articulated his unique position in world diplomacy: “Bashar and his father, Hafez, had a policy of not talking to anyone in the American embassy. in those periods of alienation, but they spoke to me.’

For 42 years, Jimmy Carter was the quintessential elder statesman. At a time when former presidents are more likely to spend their days promoting themselves than promoting the common good, Carter stands head and shoulders above the rest. Today’s leaders could learn how he used his post-presidential power.

Much will be written about Carter’s legacy in the coming days and weeks. His presidency will be discussed, as well as his decades away from office. Throughout his career we must remember his fearlessness in the cause of peace and his faith in the democratic institutions for which he fought to defend. As he himself said, “We perceive peace not as an inactive situation, but as a situation for which we must fight – as a victory in an armed conflict.” The best way to honor Carter’s legacy would be to keep the peace as long as we can, all over the world, with everything we have.