Who Was Jimmy Carter, The Former US President Often Called 'Friend of India'?

Former US president Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived ex-president of the country, passed away on Sunday (December 29) at an age of 100. The 39th president of the US, who took great efforts to restore trust in the position of the US president not long after 'Watergate' scandal broke out, remained active in public life even after his presidential term (1977-1981). He championed human rights, democratic values and much more which earned him respect even among his political opponents. He passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia.

Jimmy Carter Early Life And Education

Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. He was initially into peanut farming. He was of Baptist faith. He graduated from Naval Academy is Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated with a Bachelor in Science degree in 1946.

Jimmy Carter Family

Jimmy Carter married Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister Ruth shortly after his graduation in 1946. The couple had three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), and a daughter, Amy Lynn.

Jimmy Carter Naval Service

Carter served seven years (1946-1953) working in United States Navy. Besides excelling in training and getting promotions, he was ordered to lead a team of US experts to contain the damage caused by meltdown at an experimental reactor in Canada.

The leak of radioactivity meant that each technician could only be lowered to the core for just 90 seconds to limit his exposure to fatal radiation. Even Carter took part in the repair process. He later said that this experience had a profound impact on his thinking about radioactivity and nuclear weapons. As president, he later ceased the development of neutron bomb.

Jimmy Carter Political Life

Carter entered politics in 1962. He methodically made strides and became Governor of Georgia after eight years. His emphasis on ecology, efficiency in government, and the removal of racial barriers earned him name among the young southern governors and in wider political arena.

In 1974, Carter announced his candidacy to become US president. His two-year campaign gradually gained momentum. It was an uphill task as he was contesting against incumbent president Gerald Ford.

Carter's appeal to Not vote for him if he makes a misleading statement found resonance with US electorate that has not forgotten for US president Richard Nixon's Watergate Scandal.

In the presidential elections, Carter won 297 electoral votes while Ford could only bag 241.

Jimmy Carter Foreign Policy

Carter was a champion of human rights. This didn't go down well with Soviet Union. A notable foreign policy win in his tenure was the Camp David agreement of 1978 which he helped achieve to bring peace between Egypt and Israel.

Under Carter, US established full diplomatic relations with China and concluded negotiation of SALT-II nuclear limitation treaty with Soviet Union.

Jimmy Carter's India Connect

Carter visited India in 1978. He was the first US president to visit the country after emergency. He addressed Indian parliament on January 2, 1978.

He praised India's democracy.

Indian electorate had handed a sound defeat to Indira Gandhi in the first election held after the emergency.

During his visit, Carter and then prime minister of India Morarji Desai signed Delhi Declaration strengthening Indo-American ties.

A village in Haryana was named Carterpuri in his honour.

Carter was known to steer away from the hawkish posture towards India prevalent in US power corridors during the period. At the height of the Cold War, India was considered a country squarely in Soviet Union's orbit.