By Center for American Progress | Editorial credit: Nir Levy / shutterstock.com

As the nation observes a day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, we honor his extraordinary life and legacy. Following the announcement of his passing at the age of 100, Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:

Few others in the history of the American presidency have maintained the moral consistency and conviction to save lives and wage peace over decades as President Jimmy Carter did. President Carter proved the power of diplomacy time and again as he averted wars in the Middle East and Latin America and fully normalized relations between the U.S. and China.

In this era of easy celebrity and political grandstanding, President Carter inspired the world with the model of his postpresidential leadership. I was humbled to partner with him and his legendary Carter Center to monitor elections in Africa. He and his beloved Rosalynn fostered free and fair elections, supported global health, and created avenues to peace in some of the world’s most intractable conflicts. While he earned some of the world’s loftiest titles—governor, president, Nobel laureate—throughout it all he reminded us that the greatest honor and responsibility is that as Citizen.

Jimmy Carter’s humility, grace, open mind, and simple kindness carry the power of example we all need in this fraught turn in our history. My deepest condolences go out to his family as well as to the millions of people around the world who have benefitted from his work.