Jimmy Carter, the former farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, and who returned after a crushing defeat to become a global defender of human rights and democracy, has died at the age of 100.

According to a Portuguese EuronewsThe Carter Center reported that the 39th president died on Sunday afternoon, more than a year after he began receiving palliative care, at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November last year, lived most of their lives.

The center stressed that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family.

With reactions pouring in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter's death, saying that the world had lost an "extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian" and that he had lost a dear friend.

Biden cited Carter's compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and defend the disadvantaged as an example to others.

"To all the young people of this nation and to all who seek to know what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning - the good life - study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith and humility," Biden said in a statement.

"He showed that we are a great nation because we are a good people - decent and honorable, brave and compassionate, humble and strong."

Joe Biden also said that a state funeral would be held for Carter in Washington.

A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known governor of Georgia, with a broad smile, an effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for an efficient government.

His promise never to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon's disgrace and the US defeat in Southeast Asia.

"If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don't vote for me. I wouldn't deserve to be your president," Carter said.

Americans were captivated by his sincerity and, although an interview with Playboy in an election year provoked laughter when he said that "I had looked at many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times," voters tired of political cynicism found him endearing.

Carter's victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes plummeted after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women's rights and America's role in the world.

The family adopted an informal tone at the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band's traditional "Hail to the Chief" and enrolling their daughter, Amy, in public schools.

Carter was criticized for wearing a cardigan and for asking Americans to turn down the thermostat.

But it paved the way for an economic recovery and drastically reduced America's dependence on foreign oil, deregulating the energy industry as well as airlines, trains and trucks.

He created the Departments of Energy and Education, appointed a record number of women and non-whites to federal positions, preserved millions of acres of wilderness in Alaska and pardoned most of the draft evaders in Vietnam.

His achievements also included mediating peace in the Middle East, keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978.

(Photo DR)