Jimmy Carter Becomes Oldest Living Former President Ever

Jimmy Carter was the first US president to be born in a hospital. On Friday, he marks a new milestone as the oldest living former president ever, CNN writes. At 94 years and 172 days old, Carter has passed the previous record held by the late President George H.W. Bush.

“He and Mrs. Carter take walks, and they have followed a healthy diet for a lifetime,” Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center, told CNN.

“Both President and Mrs. Carter are both determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place, and millions of the world’s poorest people are grateful for their resolve and heart,” she added.

“But we at The Carter Center sure are rooting for him and grateful for his long life of service that has benefited millions of the world’s poorest people,” the center said in a statement.

As the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize and three separate Grammys, President Jimmy Carter can now add being the oldest living US president to his long and impressive resume.

The record comes more than three years after Carter announced that he would receive treatment for cancer that had been discovered in his brain, the New York Times reports.

“I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” Carter said at the time in August 2015; four months later, he said he was cancer free.

Carter, a Democrat born on Oct. 1, 1924, promised to heal the country after Watergate only to last one term in office, his re-election chances hurt by a miserable economy and a hostage crisis. But while many in both parties consider Carter a disappointment as president, they generally view him as a model former president. Carter has enjoyed the longest post-presidency in American history after leaving the White House in 1981.

In addition to the activities listed by Congileo, Carter has intimately shared the details of his life story in a series of books; doled out hyper-specific advice about diet, exercise and the foundations of a meaningful life; and guided the Carter Center toward a series of public health achievements.