(Washington) The remains of former US President Jimmy Carter arrived on Tuesday at the Capitol in Washington, where they will remain until his state funeral scheduled for Thursday.
Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
He leaves, internationally, the image of a peacemaker whose humanitarian commitment after his only mandate was crowned by a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. When his death was announced, tributes poured in from around the world. entire.
The body of the former president, a native of Georgia, was transported Tuesday from Atlanta to Andrews Air Force Base, located near the US capital.
In honor of Jimmy Carter’s military service aboard submarines, his remains were then transported to the United States Navy Memorial, where they were transferred to a horse-drawn cart for a funeral procession to the Capitol, the seat of Congress.
Pennsylvania Avenue, the road leading to the Capitol, had previously been cleared of snow that fell during a winter storm, which closed federal offices and schools.
Soldiers then carried the coffin draped in an American flag to the rotunda of the Capitol where the remains will rest, surrounded by an honor guard, until 7 a.m. local time on Thursday.
PHOTO MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, REUTERS
Former US President Jimmy Carter rests at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, United States, January 7, 2025.
Mr. Carter will be on the 13the former US president to rest at the Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in 1865, was the first.
The state funeral will take place Thursday at the National Cathedral, an Episcopal church in Washington that also hosted those of former presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush.
Current President Joe Biden will deliver the eulogy for the former Democratic head of state.
PHOTO ANDREW HARNIK, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Former US President Jimmy Carter rests at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, United States, January 7, 2025.
The four living former U.S. presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump – are all expected to attend.
Mr. Biden decreed that Thursday would be a day of national mourning and that federal administrations would be closed.
He also ordered that flags be flown at half-mast for 30 days, as is customary, meaning they will still be flown at half-mast for Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, something the Republican criticized.
The first president to pass the age of 100, Carter died in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. He will be buried alongside his late wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
