Ex-US president, Jimmy Carter, dies at 100

Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States, is dead.

The Democrat, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, passed on aged 100.

The Carter Centre said the 39th president of the US died on Sunday afternoon at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family.

He is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Carter became the first ex-US president to reach 100 years on October 1, 2024.

He lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan in 1981 and left the White House with low approval ratings amid an economic turmoil.

He would go on to immerse himself in humanitarian work which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Rosalynn, Carter’s wife of 77 years, died in November 2023.

“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love,” Chip Carter, his son, said in a statement after his passing.

“The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honouring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”

Carter was the first US president to embark on a state visit to sub-Saharan Africa when he touched down in Lagos, Nigeria on March 31, 1978, with Olusegun Obasanjo, then military ruler, on hand to receive him.