Rosalynn Carter: Former first lady dies aged 96

Mental health advocacy would become Ms Carter's lifelong legacy

Rosalynn Carter with members of the Girl Scouts of America in the White House in March 1977. Photo: US National Archives

Ms Carter was one of her husband Jimmy's closest advisers while he was US president and governor of Georgia, seen here at Camp David with Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in September 1978. Photo: US National Archives

Ms Carter stands to the right as her husband signs the Extension of Equal Rights Amendment ratification at the White House in October 1978. Photo: US National Archives

Mr and Ms Carter dance at the Congressional Christmas Ball at the White House in Washington in 1978. AP

Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter embraces his wife Rosalynn after receiving final news of his victory in the national general election on November 2, 1976. Getty

Mr Carter is sworn in by chief justice Earl Burger as the 39th president of the US, with his wife by his side on the East Portico of the White House on January 20, 1977. Getty

The Carters admire the cake for his 90th birthday in Americus, Georgia. AP

Ms Carter advocates for mental health at the Carter Centre in Atlanta. Michael A Schwarz

The Carters leave a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a solar panel project on farmland he owns in their hometown of Plains. The Carters installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, which were removed by president Ronald Reagan. AP

The Carters celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary with friends at Plains High School, in the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Georgia. The Carter Centre / Reuters

Ms Carter was one of her husband's most important advisers while he was president and governor of Georgia. AFP

The Carters at a welcoming ceremony during a visit to 32 houses built for poor families under the Habitat for Humanity project at Dong Xa, a village in the northern province of Hai Duong, Vietnam. AFP

The Carters at the Democratic National Convention in Madison Square Gardens in New York. AP

Ms Carter receives a kiss from her husband at the reopening ceremony for the newly redesigned Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, in 2009. AP

Ms Carter gives her husband a send-off as he boards a helicopter in Washington for the trip to Camp David. AP

The Carters and daughter Amy respond to a huge crowd that welcomed them to New York. AP

Then Georgia state senator Jimmy Carter with his wife at his Atlanta campaign headquarters in 1966. AP

Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th president Jimmy Carter and long-time mental health advocate, has died at the age of 96, the Carter Centre said on Sunday.

"She died peacefully, with family by her side,” according to the statement.

Born in Plains, Georgia, in 1927, Ms Carter was the second-longest lived wife of a president in US history, after Bess Truman.

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it.

"As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Throughout their 77 years of marriage, Ms Carter was considered one of her husband’s closest advisers and often hit the campaign trail alone.

Journalists called her the “steel magnolia”, as her quiet demeanour hid a “tough as nails” interior.

As first lady, she was known to sit in on cabinet meetings. She served abroad as a special envoy to Latin America and visited Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica and Poland and even led the US delegation in Rome for the funeral of Pope Paul VI.

“I was there to be informed so that when I travelled across the country, which I did a great deal, and was questioned by the press and other individuals about all areas of government, I'd know what was going on,” Ms Carter said of her years of service.

The Carters were known for hosting American performing artists including Dolly Parton while at the White House. Photo: National Archives

Two years into the Carter presidency, Time magazine called her the “second most powerful person in the United States”.

She also brought national attention to the performing arts, which is documented in the film Jimmy Carter: Rock 'n' Roll President.

Ms Carter and her husband hosted many barbecues and concerts during their time in Washington, with guests including Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, Pearl Bailey and Charles Mingus.

Dolly Parton, Willy Nelson, Bob Dylan and the Allman Brothers were also among the performers to visit the Carters at the White House.

Aid programmes for the elderly and communities in need were also high on Ms Carter’s agenda, although it would be her tireless advocacy for mental health that would be her lasting legacy.

From 1977 to 1978, she served as the honorary chairwoman of the President’s Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

After the White House, the Carter Centre and Library was opened in Atlanta, where Ms Carter would work until her death.

The first major project of the centre was aiding peace between Israel and its neighbours.

The Carters visited the Middle East and invited top leaders from across the region, including the Palestinian community, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, to take part in talks.

Rosalynn Carter with daughter Amy at the presidential inauguration. Photo: National Archives

It was there that Ms Carter created and led the Carter Centre's Mental Health Task Force, advocating positive change in mental health.

She also oversaw the establishment of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism, which provides funding to reporters in the US, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere, covering topics related to mental health or mental illness. Around 250 reporters have been awarded fellowships since the programme's inception in the 1990s, including several journalists in the UAE.

In 2007, Ms Carter and David Wellstone testified before Congress in an effort to pass the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses when insurance policies include both types of coverage.

And, like her husband, Ms Carter is considered a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity charity.

She and the former president met in their hometown of Plains in 1946.

The couple had four children: John William, known as “Jack” (1947), James Earl III, known as “Chip” (1950), Donnel Jeffrey, known as “Jeff” (1952), and Amy Lynn (1967).

In 1999, Ms Carter was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour, along with her husband.

She received countless accolades for her advocacy, including the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefitting the Disadvantaged, the Georgia Woman of the Year Award, the UN children's fund International Child Survival Award, the US Surgeon General's Medallion and the American Peace Award.

She also published five books including an autobiography titled First Lady from Plains and Everything To Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.

She is survived by her children, Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy, and 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.