Washington — President Joe Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter and announced Monday that all federal government offices would be closed that day as a show of respect for the 39th U.S. president, who died Sunday at the age of 100.
“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.,” Biden said in a formal declaration issued late Sunday. “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”
Biden inadvertently revealed, in March of last year at a national Democratic party event, that Carter – also a Democrat – had asked him to deliver his eulogy.
In his statement late Sunday, Biden described Carter as “a man of character, courage, and compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as one of the most influential statesmen in our history.”
He continued: “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 solemn event Jan. 9 in the nation’s capital will draw all the living American presidents and a host of dignitaries. Biden also ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff for 30 days from the date of Carter’s death at public buildings, military posts and overseas U.S. government buildings.
Biden has bestowed upon Carter a state funeral, which is a three-stage, multi-day event coordinated by the U.S. military that includes observances in the capital, plus ceremonies in the home state of the deceased.
Carter has repeatedly expressed his wish to be buried in his front yard in the small town of Plains, Georgia beside his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn. She died in 2023. Carter was in hospice care for two years before his own death, and his death at 100 made him the longest-living former president in U.S. history.
In Washington, services are likely to be held at the imposing Washington National Cathedral, which has played host to several previous state funerals, including that of former presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.
Carter’s funeral is likely to be attended by all four living American presidents — that list includes Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, former and future President Donald Trump, and Biden. Biden, at 82, is now the eldest statesman of that group.
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