The 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize passed away last December. He was 100 years old. We invite you to take a look at some of the main achievements of this remarkable personality.
On December 12, 1974, he declared his intention to run for president of the United States. He secured his party’s nomination on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention and was elected president on November 2, 1976.
Jimmy Carter served as president from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981. We should note some of the key foreign policy achievements during his presidency including the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China.
- One of President Jimmy Carter’s most significant achievements was negotiating the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which were approved by the U.S. Senate in 1978. These treaties granted Panama eventual control over the Panama Canal[1]
- The Camp David Accords, signed in September 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, laid the foundation for a landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which was finalized in March 1979. President Carter and the U.S. Government were instrumental in facilitating the conditions that made this agreement possible.
- On June 17, 1979, Carter and Brezhnev signed the SALT II Treaty in Vienna. The treaty imposed a cap of 2,250 delivery vehicles on the combined nuclear forces of both countries and introduced various other restrictions on deployed strategic nuclear forces, including MIRVs[2].
From a political perspective, the landscape has changed significantly since Jimmy Carter won the U.S. presidency. Today, we can see how ambiguities are affecting perceptions and perspectives, contributing to excessive partisanship and the technological dominance of campaigns. History, through President Carter, sends a message of authenticity and a return to fundamental values—a message marked by fewer slogans and a call for reason and unity.
President Carter will remain in our memories as an embodiment of humanity’s aspirations for genuine leadership. We should all reflect on the current state of the world and, perhaps, take a look in the mirror.
[1] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/panama-canal
