Written by Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former US President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100. Below are several key events from the Georgia Democrat's time in office from 1977 to 1981.
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords are a series of agreements signed in 1978 between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The agreements, brokered by Carter at the presidential retreat in Maryland, eventually led to Israel and its Arab neighbor signing their first peace treaty.
Begin and Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for their work for peace. Carter won in 2002 in part because of his “tireless efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.”
Relations between the United States and China
Although relations between the United States and China had been slowly improving for several years before Carter took office, under his administration the two countries overcame opposition at home and announced that they would formally recognize each other, opening formal diplomatic relations in 1979 after months of secret negotiations.
Hostage crisis in Iran
In 1979, Iranian revolutionaries kidnapped 52 employees of the US Embassy in Tehran and held them hostage for 444 days, ostensibly to punish the United States for granting asylum to the recently deposed Iranian leader. Carter appeared weak in the eyes of the public after a military rescue mission he ordered in 1980 ended in failure and eight American soldiers were killed in a plane accident.
The hostages were released minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in to replace Carter in 1981.
Energy crisis
Energy prices and production were shaky throughout the 1970s, but the Iranian Revolution in 1979 was a flashpoint for turmoil in global oil markets, leading to a significant decline in production and a resulting jump in costs. The summer of 1979 was characterized by long lines of motorists waiting at gas stations for rationed fuel. Carter responded by pledging to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports and focus on improving energy efficiency, but public confidence was shaken beyond repair.
Economic problems
Carter's (NYSE:) re-election campaign in 1980 was marred by recession fears. His administration struggled to deal with inflation, which exceeded 14% by 1980, due to rising energy prices after the gas shortage of 1979. He and his advisers tried to address inflation by raising interest rates above 17%, but this contributed to a recession during the 1980 presidential campaign.
