Former United States President James “Jimmy” Earl Carter Jr. has died at age 100, the Carter Center announced on Sunday. He was the oldest living president in American history.

“Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family,” the announcement said.

Carter served only one term from 1977 to 1981, becoming president after one of the worst political events in US history, the Watergate Scandal. 

While the Carter presidency was plagued by the Iran Hostage Crisis in which 54 Americans were trapped in the country during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, his four years in office is also remembered by the 1978 Camp David Accords. It was a peace deal signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after the 1973 Yom Kippur War (known as the 6 October War in the Arab and Islamic Worlds). 

What was more unknown however, was that one year prior in 1977, Carter became the first US president to call for a “homeland” for Palestinian refugees, according to The National.

After his presidency, his pro-Palestine and Middle East leanings became more apparent, speaking out against illegal Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian Territories in a number of interviews and talks, with one in particular criticizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, saying that the pro-Israel lobby “is not dedicated to peace” in 2007.

This sentiment culminated in one of his published books, called Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid, becoming the first US president to call out Israeli policy against Palestinians as “apartheid.”

According to the BBC, President Carter lived a simple life after his term in office, choosing to return to his pre-presidency home, a small abode valued less than $170,000. Moreover, he was a devout Christian.

Aside from his criticism of Israel, Carter dedicated the 42 years after his presidency to charity work, beginning with the founding of the Carter Center in 1982 with his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. She passed away in November 2023.

The couple were also one of the most famous donors of Habitat for Humanity, both volunteering for the organization since 1984, according to ABC.

Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his dedication to international peace and human rights.