THE MAN WHO SET S STANDARD OF LEADERSHIP FOR MANY
JIMMY CARTER
As president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, Carter made human rights a central part of American foreign policy, and he pressed other countries on how they treated their citizens. He also signed the Camp David Accords in 1978, a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than four decades. Critics argued that his human rights focus sometimes clashed with the needs of allies, but many historians see it as a shift that influenced later debates about foreign policy.
At home, Carter pushed for energy conservation after the oil crises of the 1970s and created the Department of Energy. He also created the Department of Education, which gave education its own cabinet-level voice. His presidency was damaged, however, by high inflation, rising unemployment, and the 1979 energy shortages. The Iran hostage crisis, in which Iranian militants held American diplomats for 444 days, dominated his final year and ultimately cost him reelection in 1980.
After leaving office, Carter did work that many people think was more impressive than his presidency. In 1982, he and his wife Rosalynn founded The Carter Center, which focused on human rights, conflict resolution, and public health. The center has helped reduce cases of Guinea worm disease, a painful parasitic illness, by more than 99 percent since the late 1980s. It has also worked to fight river blindness and other diseases that mostly affect poor communities.
Carter spent years volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, building homes with his own hands and helping raise awareness of affordable housing. He also monitored elections in dozens of countries, often in places where voting was unfair or dangerous. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, which recognized his decades of work on peace and human rights.
365 men who changed the world.
Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.
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