Former US President James Earl Carter Jr. (Jimmy Carter) died on Sunday at the age of 100. Many recognize him as a friend who took the initiative to advance the peace process and hold the election of the Constituent Assembly in connection with Nepal. However, his Nepalese signature is decades older than that.

'He took the initiative for the release of BP Koirala from prison,' says Congress leader Meinendra Rizal, 'Carter was a man who spoke against democracy anywhere in the world.' After establishing the Carter Center in 1982, he started working in the fields of democracy, human rights and children's rights around the world. were. 

'At that time he also went to Kalapathar, he spent two weeks in Nepal,' says Ghanshyam Ojha, a political analyst at the Carter Center, which opened in 2004 to help Nepal's peace process, 'from that time he fell in love with Nepal.' Perhaps, when the King killed power after the Darbar massacre, the 7 parties and the rebel Maoists who were preparing for a joint movement for the republic contacted Carter to gather international support. were. 

'For that reason, I went to the Carter Center in Atlanta and met with him at the end of 2005,' says Arjun Karki, Nepal's former ambassador to the US, 'at that time, he showed interest in restoring democracy by removing the worsening situation and growing conflict in Nepal as soon as possible.'  

Carter played a key role in making the US approach more flexible in bringing the Maoists into the peace process. Before the election of the first Constituent Assembly was held on 28 March 2064, he came under supervision. Carter met Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the then vice president Baburam Bhattarai and other leaders while America was putting him on the terrorist list. Bhattarai said that the memory of that meeting is still fresh. 

'Since India, China and the US are strategically important powers, we felt that we needed their help in the peace process,' says Bhattarai, 'Relationships with China and India were easy for us to resolve all issues including army adjustment, constitution making and transitional justice, but Carter met with us when the US was on the terrorist list and asked the then US State Administration to be flexible about the peace process, that was a big thing.' 

Carter is considered the most memorable world leader of the twenty-first century, former Prime Minister Bhattarai. "He has made a great contribution to the defense of democracy and human rights," he says After that, it was decided to hold Constituent Assembly elections within 6 months. "We set the date of the election in May 2064, Carter was supposed to come himself for supervision," says the then Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokhrel, "the election was postponed at the last minute due to a disagreement between the parties on the election system, but Carter came to Nepal according to the predetermined schedule and went directly to the Election Commission. He inquired how the peace process of Nepal could be advanced.' Dissatisfied with the election system, after the Maoists left power, the Election Commission announced the postponement of the election on the last day of nominations for the proportional list. Pokharel remembers that even at that time, Carter came to Nepal and met with civil society leaders to party leaders to facilitate the peace process. 

In particular, there was no agreement between the Maoists and other parties on the electoral process. Maoists were in favor of 100 percent proportional elections while Congress and UML wanted 100 percent direct elections. Political analyst Ojha said that Carter played a key role in meeting both parties to agree on the method of electing MPs from a mixed system of proportional 60 percent and direct 40 percent. 

In 2064, the Carter Center sent its observers around the country to observe the first Constituent Assembly elections. Based on the information he gave, at 3:00 p.m., Carter declared that the election was peaceful except for sporadic incidents, which was prominently broadcast by the media around the world. "Many criticized his statement as being a bit hasty," says Pokharel, "but because he said that, Nepal's election gained legitimacy in the international world. If some of the parties did not admit that the election results were rigged, the peace process of Nepal could have collapsed." break Even when the second Constituent Assembly election was held on November 4, 2070, the 89-year-old Carter came to Nepal. 'This time I gave him a hint that he might be criticized when he responded that the voting was not completed as before,' says the then Chief Commissioner Neelkanth Upreti, 'he took it very positively and called me around 6:30 in the evening to ask if I can speak now  I have never seen a man with such a humble nature, despite being so big.' are His influence was not limited to the White House, but extended to the corners of the world, where peace and justice were in peril. Born on October 1, 1924 in Georgia, USA, Carter's father was a peanut farmer. His childhood was spent in the Great Depression and segregationist Southern American society. 

Carter, who also served in the US Navy, later quit his job and took over his father's peanut farm. At the same time, politics also advanced. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962, lost in 1966, and won the governorship of the state in 1970. Elected president in 1977, Carter became a global advocate for human rights and took significant steps to bring peace to Middle East Asia. Especially in the Camp David Agreement, peace was established between Egypt and Israel. He made significant improvements in many issues from environment to social justice. 

Extending Nixon's achievements on China policy, Carter signed an agreement in January 1979 establishing full diplomatic relations. It was a difficult decision for Carter, who had to end formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. After that, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's visit to the US brought about a historic improvement in the relationship between the two countries.

That same year, Carter signed the 'Second Strategic Arms Limitation Negotiations Agreement (SALT Second)' with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. It curtailed the proliferation of strategic nuclear weapons. At that time, there was an energy crisis in America. In a 1979 speech, Carter criticized the presidency for causing the nation a moral and spiritual depression that caused him great political damage. It made it easy for his opponents, especially Ronald Reagan, to preach that Carter was a negative and uninspired leader. In the 1980 election, Carter was defeated by the Republican nominee, Reagan.

However, the years after leaving the presidency were even more fulfilling for Carter. He did not rest like any former president, instead he dedicated his life to service. Continued important work for health, human rights and democratic governance around the world.

 He monitored more than 125 elections in more than 135 countries. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for this work.

He always said, 'One person can change the world, this is not just a belief, this is my life's goal.' Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was saddened by the news of Carter's death, saying he would remain indelible in history because of his country's efforts to reach a peace agreement with Israel. 

French President Emmanuel Macron sent a message expressing his condolences on the death of Carter, who worked for the rights of the weakest throughout his life. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer issued a statement and said, "I am deeply saddened by the news of President Carter's death." From China, India, Japan, Germany, governments and heads of state around the world have expressed deep grief over Carter's death. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has also expressed grief over Carter's death.