Today's Edition
Washington (dpa)
Six days of memorial ceremonies for the recently deceased former US president Jimmy Carter started on Saturday in his home state of Georgia.
The commemorative ceremonies include a brief service at Carter's childhood home in Plains, a motorcade to Atlanta, a moment of silence at the State Capitol and an arrival ceremony and service at the Carter Presidential Center. There he will lie in repose until Tuesday.
Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100 surrounded by his family in Plains.
After the end of his presidency, he and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in Atlanta to promote democracy, human rights, and economic development.
Rosalynn, with whom he was married for 77 years, passed away just over a year ago.
Carter led the US government from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "decades-long effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts."
The ceremonies will conclude on Thursday with a state funeral in Washington and a private burial in Plains. Current President Joe Biden, who like Carter is a Democrat, ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for 30 days in mourning.
This means the flags will be at half-mast on January 20, the day of Donald Trump's inauguration, something the Republican has publicly expressed outrage over.
