Although undone by politics, the Georgia peanut farmer proved that, once out of office, he was a match for anyone and his tenacity in ousting autocrats, helping to eradicate global medical crises, and mediating peaceful solutions to thorny and long-standing internecine international bitterness, eventually made him one of the most successful and respected former US presidents we have seen.

He left office ridiculed for having allowed the US succumb to what was seen as blackmail by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in forcing ‘gas’ prices through the roof at home and the ignominy of failing to secure the release of hostages held in Tehran by Iran’s new Islamist leadership, he later proved to be a much more resilient man than he had been perceived to be while in power.

His short time in the Oval Office had led to a widespread re-evaluation of US foreign policy across South America and an appreciation of a less imperialistic approach to their affairs from Washington. So too his work with many sub-Saharan African nations, where he changed the perception of America as a street-corner bully.

But what came next, largely through his Carter Center — a non-governmental organisation whose motto is ‘waging peace, fighting disease’ — establish him as perhaps the most effective former US president. He helped oust dictators such as Noriega in Panama, Somoza in El Salvador, Taylor in Liberia, and Mariam in Ethiopia. Here in Ireland, while Bill Clinton is credited with bringing about the Good Friday Agreement to end half a century of strife in the North, Carter’s decision in 1977 to recognise there was a role for the Irish government in Northern Ireland was a huge breakthrough.

Global circumstances may have conspired against Carter while he was in office, making him a somewhat unlucky incumbent, but his zeal as an ex-president more than made up for any deficiencies he was previously accused of.

His outspokenness, his determination, and his passion for justice will see him remembered historically in a much better light than many of those who preceded him or came later.

Turmoil in Tbilisi 

The ongoing political turmoil in Tbilisi will not be dampened by the inauguration of a new president over the weekend as pro-Russian and pro-European factions desperately grapple for control of Georgia.

While Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Premier League player with Manchester City, took the oath of office and pledged to be “everyone’s president, regardless of whether they like me or not,” was sworn in on Sunday after emerging as the sole candidate in a race boycotted by the opposition.

A hardline critic of the west and a former parliamentarian for the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kavelashvili’s accession to the largely ceremonial role has been bitterly opposed by those in the country who continue to protest against the government’s decision to delay its bid to join the EU.

The outgoing, pro-EU, president, Salome Zourabichvili, warned she was “taking legitimacy with me” as she left office, citing October’s much-derided election, which saw Georgian Dream receive 54% of the vote, which local and international observers said was marked by violations and needed investigation. Zourabichvili herself described the results as “illegitimate” and accused Russia of engaging in a new form of hybrid warfare against the people of Georgia.

The small nation in the Caucasus mountains is now locked in an elemental battle for its independence and the tens of thousands who have protested almost daily since the election now appear to be engaged in an escalatory phase of an increasingly fraught struggle.

Nobody knows what will happen next, but with many European countries grappling with their own internal politics, the future for Georgia looks fraught.