Former President Jimmy Carter Leaves Behind a Legacy of Mental Health Advocacy

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were lifelong activists for improving and expanding mental health care access for Americans.

Former President Jimmy Carter, accompanied by his wife, Rosalynn, waves to journalists after he crosses over the border into North Korea on June 15, 1994. Some of the Carter Center's achievements in global conflict mediation include work in the countries and regions of Ethiopia (1989), North Korea (1994), Liberia (1994), Haiti (1994), Sudan (1999), Uganda (1999), Venezuela (2002-2003), Colombia (2008), and the Middle East (2003-present). Choo Youn-Kong/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100 on Dec. 29, charted a more than 70-year legacy that began with his Navy service and continued into the present day with his international conflict resolution group, the Carter Center.

While Carter is famously remembered for his decades of work with Habitat for Humanity and for pursuing global peace with his center, the 39th president also leaves behind a history of advocating for mental health care, often spearheaded by his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died in 2023 at age 96.