After the presidency, Jimmy Carter dedicated his life to building houses with Habitat for Humanity, eradicating the world of guinea worm and promoting global human rights, earning him the nickname of the “best former president America ever had”.
Written off by many as a hayseed peanut farmer, Mr Carter was overlooked as quite possibly the most liberal and feminist person to hold the highest office in the land.
A champion of civil rights, as Georgia’s governor, Mr Carter spoke out against his own lieutenant governor, segregationist Lester Maddox. The first thing he did as governor was hang a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr in the Capitol statehouse.
It was this breath of fresh air that caught the attention of many performers, most of whom landed on Mr Carter’s radar through his children.
Mr Carter was introduced to the music of Bob Dylan by his sons, and said the folk singer’s songs “permeated” the governor’s mansion in Atlanta. And when Dylan played a concert in the city, Mr Carter invited him to pay a visit.
“The first thing he did was quote my songs back to me and it was the first time that I realised that my songs had reached into the establishment,” Dylan said in the 2020 documentary, Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President.
“He put my mind at ease by not talking down to me and showing me that he had a sincere appreciation of the songs that I had written.”
Mr Carter and Dylan formed a lifelong friendship, which led to many others in the rock 'n' roll community, including with the Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Johnny and June Carter Cash.
Jimmy who?
When the popular Georgia governor threw his cap into the 1976 presidential race, the refrain of “Jimmy who?” echoed throughout the state and across the US. To help him gain traction and raise funds, Phil Walden, the founder of Capricorn Records, called on his label’s artists to hit the campaign trail on his behalf.
The Allmans, John Denver and Charlie Daniels were just a few artists answering the call. And when crowds in the Pacific North-West were small, Mr Carter phoned in a favour from Jimmy Buffett, who drew 15,000 supporters to an Oregon campaign event.
Mr Carter would soon gain an endorsement from Rolling Stone journalist Hunter S Thompson, with whom he also developed a close friendship.
Producer and musician Nile Rodgers, who was at the time a member of the Black Panther party, said that Mr Carter made him feel like there was finally candidate who saw the world the way he did.
39th president
Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin and Linda Ronstadt were among the performers at Mr Carter’s inauguration concert.
It was attended by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Warren Beatty, Cher and Gregg Allman, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Muhammed Ali, Saturday Night Live stars Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine and Atlanta Braves baseball player Hank Aaron.
Musicians such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were also known to drop by the White House while others were extended invitations to dinner or to perform – including Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Muddy Waters and Nelson.
Jazz barbeques held on the South Lawn featured performances by Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Chick Corea.
Carter the feminist
In his life after the presidency, Mr Carter said that the biggest human rights issue was the world’s treatment of women and girls, which he addressed in his 2014 book A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power. During a 2015 TedTalk, he dedicated his entire time to speaking out against the mistreatment of women and girls.
"Our overall commitment at the Carter Centre is to promote human rights, and knowing the world as I do, I can tell you without any equivocation that the number one abuse of human rights on Earth, strangely not addressed quite often, is the abuse of women and girls," he said.
Mr Carter often urged the public to support and recognise the contributions of women to the nation's heritage and brought many women into positions of power.
In 1978, Congress passed and he signed a joint resolution with the intent of extending the ratification deadline of the Equal Rights Amendment to June 30, 1982.
The National Organisation for Women and ERAmerica, a coalition of almost 80 organisations, led the pro-ERA efforts. Key feminists such as Gloria Steinem and congresswoman Bella Abzug spoke out in favour of the amendment.
Carter's legacy
Mr Carter as president introduced the world to Madeleine Albright, who was hired to help negotiate the historic peace accords between Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin.
He also appointed five times more women to the federal bench than all his predecessors combined, in a landmark commitment to women’s equality and merit selection.
In his first month in office, Mr Carter issued an executive order to establish panels to look for judges “whose character, experience, ability and commitment to equal justice under law fully qualify them to serve in the federal judiciary”.
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was only one of them. Mr Carter appointed her to the US Court of Appeals in 1980, paving her path to the Supreme Court.
“A powerful legal mind and a staunch advocate for gender equality, she has been a beacon of justice during her long and remarkable career," he said after her death in 2020.
By the time Mr Carter left office in 1981, an unprecedented one in six of his 259 judicial appointments were women, as compared with less than one per cent of each of his predecessors’ appointments.
He concluded his 2015 talk by saying: "I have four children, 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, and I think often about them and about the plight that they will face – whether they live in America or Egypt or another foreign country – in having equal rights.
"I hope that all of you will join me in being a champion for women and girls around the world and protect their human rights."
The former president, who was elected in 1976, died on Sunday, his family said. He was 100.
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
How to apply for a drone permit
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What are the regulations?
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TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
