Jimmy Carter being honoured with state funeral in Washington, DC

Former United States President Jimmy Carter is being honoured with a authorities ceremonial astatine the Washington National Cathedral, capping astir a week of nationalist mourning for the erstwhile person and humanitarian leader.

President Joe Biden volition present the eulogy successful Washington, DC, connected Thursday morning, little than 2 weeks earlier helium leaves office.

“He was a antheral of large quality and courage, anticipation and optimism,” Biden said of his chap Democrat successful a statement marking Carter’s decease successful precocious December.

All of Carter’s surviving statesmanlike successors were successful attendance for Thursday’s funeral, including President-elect Donald Trump, who paid his respects earlier Carter’s coffin a time earlier successful the Capitol Rotunda.

Tributes have poured in for Carter since helium died connected December 29 astatine the property of 100, with governmental leaders and others hailing his dedication to nationalist work and decades of humanitarian work.

Carter’s ceremonial is being held astatine the National Cathedral successful Washington, DC [Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times/Pool via Reuters]

While helium lone served 1 word arsenic president, from 1977 to 1981, the erstwhile peanut husbandman from the US authorities of Georgia near a lasting bequest during his post-presidential career.

He won the Nobel Prize for Peace successful 2002 for the enactment his organisation, The Carter Center, did to combat the Guinea worm illness successful Africa and to show elections crossed the world.

He was besides heavy progressive successful gathering homes done Habitat for Humanity, earning him admiration crossed the governmental spectrum.

Thursday volition reason six days of nationalist rites that began successful Plains, Georgia, wherever Carter was calved successful 1924, lived astir of his beingness and died aft 22 months successful hospice care.

Ceremonies person continued successful Atlanta and Washington, DC, wherever Carter has lain successful authorities since Tuesday.

Reporting from extracurricular the cathedral connected Thursday morning, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Carter’s bequest – similar that of each US presidents – is not “black and white”.

“In 1977, helium successfully negotiated the Camp David agreement, which normalised relations betwixt Egypt and Israel … He besides wanted to marque American authorities much compassionate and much considerate of mean people,” Fisher said.

Fisher added that different observers volition enactment that Carter, portion serving arsenic president, did not condemn Apartheid South Africa oregon talk retired against atrocities successful El Salvador, among different overseas argumentation stances.

A ceremonial procession carrying Carter’s assemblage moves connected its mode from the US Capitol to Washington National Cathedral [Marko Djurica/Reuters]

“So it becomes complicated. But radical volition constituent to the enactment that helium did afterwards with The Carter Center, erstwhile helium tried to beforehand democracy, erstwhile helium negotiated settlements successful immoderate of the world’s hottest hotspots,” Fisher said.

“He declared Israel to beryllium an apartheid state. He besides talked astir Nicolas Maduro; adjacent though the American medication was saying that his archetypal predetermination was fraudulent, [Carter said] that helium won it successful escaped and just elections.

“He was ever consenting to talk retired and it’s that bequest that volition beryllium burnished present astatine the National Cathedral: the statesman, the antheral who did overmuch much retired of the White House than helium did successful his 4 years successful it.”

Politicians, diplomats and different figures from each implicit the satellite volition beryllium successful attendance astatine Thursday’s funeral, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Bernice King, girl of slain US civilian rights person Martin Luther King Jr.

“He acceptable a precise precocious barroom for presidents, however you tin usage dependable and enactment for causes,” Gates said of Carter successful an interrogation with The Associated Press this week.

Bernice King besides compared the erstwhile president to her father, saying the brace “showed america what is imaginable erstwhile your religion compels you to unrecorded and pb from a love-centred place”.

At the cathedral, Ted Mondale, lad of Walter Mondale, Carter’s vice president, is expected to work a eulogy his begetter wrote for Carter earlier his ain decease successful 2021.

United Nations main Antonio Guterres greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier Carter’s ceremonial successful Washington, DC [Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters]

Steve Ford, the grandson of President Gerald Ford, volition work a tribute from his grandfather, who died successful 2006. Carter defeated Ford successful 1976 but the pair, and their archetypal ladies, became adjacent friends, and Carter eulogised Ford astatine his funeral.

Mourners besides volition perceive from Stu Eizenstat, who was a apical White House staffer for Carter, and 92-year-old Andrew Young, a erstwhile Atlanta mayor, congressman and UN ambassador during the Carter administration.

After the greeting work successful Washington, DC, Carter’s remains, his 4 children and extended household volition instrumentality to his location authorities of Georgia for an day funeral.

He volition beryllium buried connected household onshore successful a crippled adjacent to Rosalynn, to whom Carter was joined for much than 77 years.