Carter, Jimmy

Carter, Jimmy

(1924-)

39th president of the USA 1977-81, a Democrat. In 1976 he narrowly wrested the presidency from Gerald Ford. Features of his presidency were the return of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, the Camp David Agreements for peace in the Middle East, and the Iranian seizure of US embassy hostages. He was defeated by Ronald Reagan 1980. During the 1990s he emerged as a leading mediator and peace negotiator, securing President Aristide's safe return to Haiti Oct 1994.

Born in Plains, Georgia, Carter served in the navy as a physicist until 1953, when he took over the family peanut business. He first entered politics 1962 when he made a successful bid for the Georgia State Senate, and in 1970 was elected governor. In 1976, after a long and hard fought campaign, he won the Democratic presidential nomination and went on to secure a narrow victory over Gerald Ford, becoming the first Southern president since the American Civil War