National Archives / Charles Bogel
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) mourns the loss of President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29, 2024. The world has lost a public servant on a global scale who used the prestige and power of his former office to work for peace, justice, and human rights.
While AFSC profoundly disagreed with many of the Carter administration’s policies, we twice nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1991 and 1997, in recognition of the remarkable quality and effectiveness of his work to end armed conflicts and build the foundations of a more peaceful world.
Founding the Carter Center in 1982, President Carter led programs to aid democracy by monitoring elections worldwide; negotiating internationally to end civil wars and other internal conflicts; and increasing agricultural productivity and improving disease control in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Central America. AFSC continues to work with the Carter Center today.
President Carter’s global pursuit of good works was led by his spiritual convictions, as he described in his 1996 book "Living Faith.” His patiently relentless approach led to successes others had despaired of seeing.
Carter’s lifelong commitment to peacebuilding and diplomacy – even when such actions were widely unpopular – is something we hope will be carried on by today’s leaders. We are holding his family and loved ones in the light.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.