On this day, October 11, 2002, late former U.S. President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his decades of efforts to resolve international conflicts peacefully, promote democracy and human rights, and advance economic and social development.
Carter, a former peanut farmer from Georgia, served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981. One of his major achievements in office was helping broker the 1978 Camp David Accords, which paved the way for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
The Nobel Committee had considered awarding Carter the prize in 1978 alongside Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. However, he was not nominated before the official deadline, preventing the committee from awarding him the honour that year.
After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, established the Carter Center in Atlanta in 1982 to promote human rights and alleviate human suffering.
He also worked with Habitat for Humanity from 1984, helping build homes and raise awareness of homelessness.
Through his post-presidential work, Carter contributed to disease prevention, economic development in developing countries and election monitoring around the world.
Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024, at his home in Plains, Georgia.
Carter became the third U.S. president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, following Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Former President Barack Obama later received the award in 2009.