President Jimmy Carter

The Carter Center (Founded 1982) Created with Rosalynn Carter to promote peace, fight disease, and strengthen human rights globally. Disease Eradication: The Carter Center led efforts that reduced Guinea worm disease from 3.5 million cases in 1986 to fewer than 10 in 2023. Carter once said: “I’d like the last guinea worm to die before I do.” The Center also fought river blindness, malaria, and other neglected diseases. Election Monitoring: Carter personally observed over 100 elections in 39 countries — from Nicaragua to Ghana — helping ensure democratic integrity where it was fragile or new. Conflict Mediation: Often working behind the scenes, Carter brokered peace talks or humanitarian access in North Korea (1994), Sudan, Ethiopia, Haiti, Bosnia, and beyond. Habitat for Humanity Starting in 1984, Carter became the face of Habitat for Humanity, physically helping build and repair homes in more than 14 countries. Even into his 90s — after cancer and surgeries — he was still swinging a hammer. The annual “Carter Work Project” continues his legacy of hands-on compassion.