Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) was a Navy officer in the nuclear submarine program, a peanut farmer and a Baptist deacon from Plains, Georgia, who served as a state senator and governor of Georgia. Running as a Washington outsider after Watergate, he won the presidency as a Democrat in 1976. His term was marked by high inflation, energy shortages and the Iran hostage crisis, and he lost re-election to Ronald Reagan in 1980. After leaving office he led the Carter Center's work on elections, disease and conflict resolution, and he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Admirers credit Carter with the Camp David Accords, a human rights emphasis in foreign policy, early investment in alternative energy and transportation deregulation, as well as an unusually active post-presidency recognized by the Nobel committee. Critics, including many conservatives and some Democrats, argue that his administration struggled with inflation, energy shortages and relations with Congress, and that the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan exposed a weak foreign policy. Some historians have since reassessed his presidency more favorably, citing the long-term effects of deregulation and his human rights agenda.