Jimmy Carter becomes first ex-US president to reach 100 years
Jimmy Carter has marked his 100th birthday, making him the first former US president to reach triple digits.
The former president became a centenarian on Tuesday after spending the last 19 months in hospice care.
Carter has had a long battle with cancer.
In 2015, the ex-president announced that four spots of cancer had spread to his brain. He was later pronounced cancer-free in December of that year after treatment.
He faced a series of health scares, including a black eye and fractured pelvis from separate incidents in 2019, and would undergo surgery to remove pressure on his brain.
Last year, the Carter Center, a not-for-profit organisation founded by the former president, announced that he had decided to begin receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia after a series of short hospital stays.
Carter held the highest office in the country from 1977 to 1981. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work as a global humanitarian mediating international conflicts and advancing human rights.
He lost his re-election bid when he was 56.
The last time the former president was seen publicly was when he attended his wife’s funeral service nearly a year ago.
US President Joe Biden had accidentally disclosed that Carter asked him to deliver his eulogy when he passes on. (The Cable)