The US will declare a day of national mourning on January 9

Former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral will take place on January 9 at the Washington National Cathedral, part of a national day of mourning for America’s longest-serving president.

Walter Mondale, who was Carter’s vice president, had intended to deliver the eulogy for his former boss, but he died in 2021. Mondale’s son plans to read the eulogy at the funeral, according to the New York Times.

More details are emerging about how the country will honor the world-renowned humanitarian who died Sunday at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia.

There will also be public ceremonies in Atlanta, Georgia, before Carter is laid to rest in Plains, according to the Carter Center.

Following the US custom of marking the death of important figures and leaders, President Joe Biden ordered US flags on federal property to be flown at half-mast for 30 days. The timing will include the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The Carter family said they “respected and gratefully” accepted the invitation from the US Congress for Carter to celebrate in the rotunda of the US Capitol building. Traditionally, it’s a public viewing where people will file in to pay their respects, including lawmakers and dignitaries as well as ordinary Americans.

Carter will then be buried at his family’s estate, next to his wife Rosalyn, who died aged 96 in November 2023.

Biden requested that January 9 be used to pay tribute to America’s 39th president, James Earl Carter Jr.

“He embodied the best of America: a humble servant of God and man,” he said in a statement.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that while he and Carter disagreed philosophically, Carter was a “really good guy” and had “a lot of respect.”

Other American leaders also issued statements praising Carter’s life and work, including former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Former President Barack Obama said Carter “taught us all what it means to live grace, dignity, justice and service.”

Carter, the former Georgia peanut farmer-turned-Naval officer-turned-President of the United States, served from 1977-1981.

During his time in the White House, he championed causes for global peace, the environment and human rights, and later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

One of his most notable achievements in office was brokering a Middle East peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

However, Carter’s achievements as president were overshadowed by the collapsing US economy and what he called a “crisis of confidence”.

He served only one term in the White House and lost in a landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Much of Carter’s legacy was built on his life after the presidency.

He continued to work for global peace and met with international leaders; he created the Carter Center, a non-profit organization created to help eradicate the disease; and, in his 90s, he works with Habitat for Humanity to help build and repair homes.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of President Carter and our prayers are with the Carter family,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International.