Jimmy Carter

Carter defeated incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. He campaigned as a Washington outsider and promised honesty and human rights in foreign policy.

Carter mediated negotiations between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David. The accords led to the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, a landmark in Middle East diplomacy.

Iranian militants seized the US Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American hostages. Carter's administration attempted a rescue mission that failed, and the crisis dominated his final year in office.

Carter lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan in a landslide. The defeat was attributed to economic stagflation, the Iran hostage crisis, and a perception of weak leadership.

Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of work in conflict resolution, human rights, and democracy promotion through the Carter Center. The prize recognized his post-presidential efforts.