Jimmy Carter will become the sixth US president to receive an official state funeral at the US Capitol as the country prepares to honor its late commander in chief.
Carter died at the age of 100, almost two years after announcing he would spend his final days in a hospice.
His son Chip Carter, 74, confirmed that the former president had died at his home in Georgia on Sunday around 3:40 p.m. ET.
President Biden was expected to declare an official “day of mourning” for the deceased during a speech from the Oval Office on Sunday evening.
Will there be a state funeral for Jimmy Carter’s death?
Joe Biden did not immediately announce a day of mourning in a statement released Sunday afternoon, but did state that Carter will receive a state funeral.
“To honor a great American, I will order an official state funeral in Washington DC for James Earl Carter, Jr., 39th President of the United States, 76th Governor of Georgia, Lieutenant of the United States Navy, graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and favorite son of Plains, Georgia, who gave his life in service to God and country,” Biden said.
A date for the funeral has not yet been set.
Fox News reported that Carter’s body will likely lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda beginning Jan. 6.
Jimmy Carter will become the sixth US president to receive an official state funeral at the US Capitol, as part of the nation’s mourning for its late commander in chief.
Carter’s body will likely lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda beginning Jan. 6
In total, 12 presidents and 34 people have lied in the Rotunda, the last of which was the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2022.
Will there be a day of mourning after Jimmy Carter’s death?
Although the declaration did not officially declare a day of mourning, it is typically observed a few days after the president’s death.
Richard Nixon’s took place five days after his death, Gerald Ford’s a week after his and coincided with his funeral, George HW Bush’s four days after his death, and Reagan’s six days.
Carter follows Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush as they organize such events.
Nixon’s was unique in that, in accordance with the former president’s wishes, none of the elements of the state ceremonies took place in the nation’s capital, but rather in his presidential library in California.
The sitting president will also order all flags to be flown at half-mast for 30 days, meaning they will fly low at Donald Trump’s inauguration in mid-January.
Where will Jimmy Carter be buried?
Presidential funerals traditionally last five days and take place in three distinct phases, with ceremonies in the president’s home state and then in Washington before deciding where the deceased would be buried.
Carter has long planned to be buried next to his late wife of 77 years, Rosalyn Carter, in the Plains, Georgia, home they shared, according to People News.
Mourners leave flowers at the Carter Memorial Center in Atlanta
Carter has long planned to be buried next to his late wife of 77 years, Rosalyn Carter, in the Plains, Georgia home they shared
The sitting president and his family are expected to be responsible for planning the funeral ceremonies.
The Washington portion of the state funeral takes place at the Washington National Cathedral.
The funeral usually ends in a procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, where the White House is located.
Guards of honor form a rifle group and fire a three-volley salute over the grave Reader’s Digest.
The body is then returned to Georgia for burial. The families of some presidents, including George HW Bush in 2018, chose to do this by train so that people across the country can pay their respects.
When did Jimmy Carter die?
Carter died Sunday afternoon around 3:40 p.m. at the age of 100, his family announced.
The Democratic former peanut farmer, who served one term in the White House from 1977 to 1981 and devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy, decided against further medical treatment and entered hospice care in February 2023 after a series of hospital stays.
At the age of 100, he was the longest-living former president in American history.
Carter’s four years as president were blighted by an oil crisis that forced Americans to line up for gas and the Iran hostage crisis that stretched into the final moments of his administration before Ronald Reagan took over.
The sitting president will also order all flags to be flown at half-mast for 30 days, meaning they will fly low at Donald Trump’s inauguration in mid-January.
The Washington portion of the state funeral takes place at the Washington National Cathedral. Presidents Trump, Obama, Clinton, Carter and Biden are all pictured at George HW Bush’s funeral in 2018
But the Navy veteran’s dedication to philanthropy quickly made him one of the most beloved figures in American politics.
One of his last public appearances was the celebration of his 100th birthday on October 1, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Georgia.
With Carter’s death, there are now only five living presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, now President-elect Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden.
Carter was born on October 1, 1924, with the rarely used full name James Earl Carter, Jr. and grew up during the Great Depression.
The son of a Georgia peanut farmer, he said farming, talking about politics and a commitment to the Baptist faith were pillars of his upbringing.
Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946 and married Rosalynn Smith shortly thereafter.
The couple had three sons – John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) – and a daughter, Amy Lynn. They also had 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Their grandson Jeremy Davis Carter died of a heart attack in 2015 at the age of 28.
Rosalynn passed away on Sunday, November 19 at 2:10 PM at her home in Plains, Georgia. The former first lady was a passionate advocate for mental health care, caregiving and women’s rights.
Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946 and married Rosalynn Smith shortly thereafter. The couple had three sons – John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) – and a daughter, Amy Lynn
The son of a Georgia peanut farmer, he said farming, talking about politics and commitment to the Baptist faith were pillars of his upbringing
A Carter Center statement on her death said: “She died peacefully, with family by her side.”
She was honored with a wreath-laying ceremony at the eponymous medical center in Americus, Georgia, followed by her casket lying in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.
The next day, on November 28, 2023, American leaders and politicians gathered with Jimmy Carter for her funeral at the Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
In attendance were President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden and former President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton – as well as former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush.
On November 29, the Carter family held a more private funeral service for Rosalynn at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where former President Carter attended in a wheelchair.
Jimmy Carter served as a Navy officer for seven years before returning to Georgia, where he entered state politics in 1962.
Eight years later he was elected governor of Georgia.
He launched a bid for the White House in 1974 and built momentum over the next two years.
While president, he created two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education.
He installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, then Reagan took them down.
Both during and after his presidency, he became known as an international advocate of human rights.