Paulina Chavez
Press Secretary
[email protected]
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) joins the American people and people around the world in celebrating the remarkable life of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away today. NDI extends its condolences to the Carter family and to our colleagues at The Carter Center. President Carter showed unshakeable support for citizens’ rights to hold their leaders accountable through free, fair, and credible elections, and he believed firmly in the power of international solidarity to buttress struggling democracies. He expressed these principles both in office and out, and they are a lasting legacy from his lifetime of public service.
In his inaugural address on January 20, 1977, President Carter said, “Because we are free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. Our moral sense dictates a clear-cut preference for those societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights.” President Carter catalyzed the integration of democracy and human rights into U.S. foreign policy, by establishing what was then called the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, today the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. This achievement laid a key foundation for the creation, in 1983, of the National Endowment for Democracy and NDI.
President Carter and The Carter Center have long been close partners of NDI, particularly in conducting international election observations. President Carter led numerous such delegations to places as diverse as Nicaragua, Nigeria, the Palestinian Authority, and Indonesia. Presidents Carter and Gerald Ford co-led a joint NDI-IRI observation of Panama’s critical 1986 presidential elections, and he co-led the joint NDI-Carter Center observer delegation to Zambia’s 1991 elections, where he played a pivotal role in the country's democratic transition.
“President Carter and Rosalynn Carter made election observation an integral part of The Carter Center's conflict resolution mission,” noted NDI’s first President, current Board Member and former USAID Administrator Brian Atwood. “President Carter was universally trusted as an election observer, and voters worldwide felt the benefit of his personal engagement to ensure their votes mattered.”
“President Carter championed human rights and defended democracy – the international principles by which NDI operates,” said NDI Board Chair Thomas Daschle. “The 2002 Nobel Peace Prize celebrated his tireless efforts to resolve conflict, protect human dignity and support freedom. NDI was honored to work with President Carter throughout his extraordinary life.”
“President Carter’s consequential achievements – during his presidency and afterward – present an extraordinary model of public service. His bone-deep commitment to human freedom and human dignity, rooted in his faith, principle and personal grace, will continue to inspire democratic activists and leaders worldwide,” said NDI President Tamara Cofman Wittes. “His friendship will be deeply missed by the entire NDI family.”
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NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works in partnership around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. NDI envisions a world where democracy and freedom prevail, with dignity for all.
