Jimmy Carter

:For the submarine, see USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).

Post-Presidency

Because he had served as a submariner (the only president to have done so), a submarine was named for him. The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) was named on April 27, 1998, making it one of the very few U.S. Navy vessels to be named for a person still alive at the time of the naming. In February 2005, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter both spoke at the commissioning ceremony for this submarine.

Related Topics:
Submarine - ''USS Jimmy Carter'' (SSN-23) - April 27 - 1998 - Very few - U.S. Navy

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Since his unsuccessful bid for re-election, Carter has been involved in a variety of public policy, human rights, and charitable causes. His work in international public policy and conflict resolution is largely through the Carter Center. The center also focuses on world-wide health care including the campaign to eliminate guinea worm disease. He and members of the center are sometimes involved in the monitoring of the electoral process in support of free and fair elections. This includes acting as election observers, particularly in Latin America and Africa.

Related Topics:
Public policy - Human rights - Charitable - Conflict resolution - Carter Center - Health care - Guinea worm disease - Electoral process - Election observer - Latin America - Africa

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Carter was the third U.S. president, after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize award. He and his wife Rosalynn are also well-known for their work with Habitat for Humanity.

Related Topics:
Theodore Roosevelt - Woodrow Wilson - Nobel Peace Prize - Rosalynn - Habitat for Humanity

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Carter visited Cuba in May 2002, meeting with Fidel Castro and becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.

Related Topics:
Cuba - 2002 - Fidel Castro - 1959

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Not all Carter's efforts have gained him favor in Washington; President Clinton and both Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush were said to have been less than pleased with Carter's "freelance" diplomacy in Iraq and elsewhere. Critics of Carter's diplomatic efforts (during and after his presidency) generally concede that Carter is honest and well intentioned, but consider him to be naive about less scrupulous foreign leaders.

Related Topics:
Clinton - George H.W. - George W. Bush

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In March 2004, Carter roundly condemned George W. Bush and Tony Blair for waging an unnecessary war "based upon lies and misinterpretations" in order to oust Saddam Hussein. He claimed that Blair had allowed his better judgement to be swayed by Bush's desire to finish a war that George H. W. Bush (his father) had started. In June 2005, Carter urged the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba, which has been the centerpoint for recent claims of prisoner and Muslim holy book Quran abuse.

Related Topics:
2004 - George W. Bush - Tony Blair - Saddam Hussein - George H. W. Bush - Guantanamo Bay

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On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Carter and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.

Related Topics:
November 22 - 2004 - George Pataki - Gerald Ford - George H. W. Bush - Bill Clinton - World Trade Center

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Every September he goes to the Plains Peanut Festival and reportedly frequents the Pink Pig Barbecue Restaurant in Cherry Log, Georgia when he and the former First Lady are visiting their log cabin near Ellijay, Georgia. Carter also teaches a Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. He is also an accomplished amateur woodworker and has occasionally been featured in the pages of Fine Wood Working magazine, which is published by Taunton Press.

Related Topics:
Plains Peanut Festival - Sunday School - Fine Wood Working - Taunton Press

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