Announcing the Death of James Earl Carter, Jr.

Proclamation 10876 of December 29, 2024

Announcing the Death of James Earl Carter, Jr.

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES:

It is my solemn duty to announce officially the death
of James Earl Carter, Jr., the thirty-ninth President
of the United States, on December 29, 2024.

President Carter was a man of character, courage, and
compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as
one of the most influential statesmen in our history.
He embodied the very best of America: A humble servant
of God and the people. A heroic champion of global
peace and human rights, and an honorable leader whose
moral clarity and hopeful vision lifted our Nation and
changed our world.

The son of a farmer and a nurse, President Carter's
remarkable career in public service began in 1943 as a
cadet at the United States Naval Academy. He later
served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets before
becoming a decorated lieutenant and being selected to
join the elite nuclear submarine program.

After his father died, he shifted from active duty to
the Navy Reserve and returned home to Plains, Georgia,
to help manage his family's peanut farm. He worked hard
stewarding the land while leading his community as a
church deacon, Sunday school teacher, and board member
of a hospital and library. His deep faith inspired a
passion for public service that led him to be elected
State Senator, Georgia's 76th Governor, and ultimately
President of the United States.

As President, he understood that Government must be as
good as its people--and his faith in the people was
boundless just as his belief in America was limitless
and his hope for our common future was perennial.

With President Carter's leadership, the modern
Department of Education and the Department of Energy
were created. He championed conservation, and his
commitment to a more just world was at the heart of his
foreign policy, leading on nuclear nonproliferation,
signing the Panama Canal treaties, and mediating the
historic 1978 Camp David Accords. His partnership with
Vice President Walter Mondale is one that future
administrations strived to achieve.

Following his Presidency, President Carter advanced an
agenda that elevated the least among us. Guided by an
unwavering belief in the power of human goodness and
the God-given dignity of every human being, he worked
tirelessly around the globe to broker peace; eradicate
disease; house the homeless; and protect human rights,
freedom, and democracy.

Through his extraordinary moral leadership, President
Carter lived a noble life full of meaning and purpose.
And as a trusted spiritual leader, he shepherded people
through seasons of pain and joy, inspiring them through
the power of his example and healing them through the
power of his guidance.

As we mourn the loss of President Carter, we hold the
memory of his beloved Rosalynn, his wife of over 77
years, close in our hearts. Exemplifying hope, warmth,
and service, she and her husband inspired the Nation.
The

love Rosalynn and President Carter shared is the
definition of partnership, and their devotion to public
service is the definition of patriotism.

May President Carter's memory continue to be a light
pointing us forward. May we continue to be guided by
his spirit in our Nation and in our world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, in honor and tribute to the memory of President
James Earl Carter, Jr., and as an expression of public
sorrow, do hereby direct that the flag of the United
States be displayed at half-staff at the White House
and on all public buildings and grounds, at all
military posts and naval stations, and on all naval
vessels of the Federal Government in the District of
Columbia and throughout the United States and its
Territories and possessions for a period of 30 days
from the day of his death. I also direct that, for the
same length of time, the representatives of the United
States in foreign countries shall make similar
arrangements for the display of the flag at half-staff
over their embassies, legations, consular offices, and
other facilities abroad, including all military
facilities and naval vessels and stations.

I hereby order that suitable honors be rendered by
units of the Armed Forces under orders of the Secretary
of Defense.

I do further appoint January 9, 2025, as a National Day
of Mourning throughout the United States. I call on the
American people to assemble on that day in their
respective places of worship, there to pay homage to
the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr. I invite
the people of the world who share our grief to join us
in this solemn observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.