Jimmy Carter: US plans six-day state funeral as former President mourned

While Washington prepares for official rites to honour former US president Jimmy Carter, organisations around the world continue to acclaim the impact of his humanitarian work, and his own hometown expresses its sorrow.

The 39th president died on Sunday at the age of 100.

President Joe Biden confirmed that January 9, 2025, will be a day of national mourning, with federal offices closed for Carter’s state funeral at the National Cathedral.

Biden, a longtime Carter friend and political ally, will deliver a eulogy for his fellow Democrat.

The former president will lie in state from January 7 to 9, when his remains will be transported to the cathedral for the state funeral.

In New York, the 15 members of the UN Security Council stood in silent tribute to the Nobel Peace Prize winner. US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea read a statement from the UN’s most powerful body at the start of an emergency meeting on Yemen.

“President Carter was a peacemaker who worked tirelessly and effectively in support of conflict mediation, the furtherance of human rights and the strengthening of democracy, both while he was in office and during his many years of service thereafter,” the Security Council statement said.

China’s deputy UN ambassador, Geng Shuang, remembered Carter as “a driving force” in establishing relations between Beijing and Washington. “We highly commend his achievements,” Geng said, stating that Carter “made great contribution over the years to ... cooperation between the two countries.”

Prominent Egyptian rights defender Hossam Bahgat, a fierce critic of the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government, said Carter was among the first to warn of “Israeli apartheid” against Palestinians ? a position that put Carter at odds with much of the US foreign policy establishment.

Away from official acknowledgements, one Georgia town had a more personal sense of loss.

Carter died surrounded by family in the one-storey house he and his late wife, Rosalynn, built in Plains Georgia before he launched his first political campaign more than 60 years ago.

“His presence here in Plains really boosted the morale of everyone who lives here,” said resident Johnny Jones, 85, as he recalled warm exchanges with “Mr. Jimmy” and “Ms. Rosalynn,” who died in November 2023.

Here is what we know about funeral plans for the former president, according to details released by the US military:

• The state funeral begins January 4 with ceremonies in Carter’s home state of Georgia
• A motorcade will take Carter from his hometown of Plains, to Atlanta’s Carter Presidential Center, where he will lie in repose until being flown to Washington
• In Washington his body will lie in state in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, a tradition dating back to Abraham Lincoln
• A funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on January 9
• Afterwards, Carter will be flown back to Georgia and buried in a private ceremony in his hometown of Plains
• Rather than flowers, Carter’s family asked for donations to his namesake Center to help its work in global health, peace, and human rights

Black ribbons hung alongside US flags flying in front of the souvenir shops and cafes in Plains’ main street, just a few blocks from Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign headquarters.

At Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters long taught Sunday school, a handful of residents trickled in for a silent vigil Monday evening. A piano played softly as people lit candles at the altar, with lighted Christmas trees standing on either side.

In Georgia, neighbours of the Carter Center in Atlanta congregated near the grounds where Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter would redefine what a post-presidency can be.