President Carter and Archbishop Tutu: Unlikely Peas in a Pod

Statement from the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

PRESIDENT CARTER AND ARCHBISHOP TUTU: UNLIKELY PEAS IN A POD

'On behalf of Mrs Leah Tutu, Trustees of the Archbishop Tutu Intellectual Property Trust, and the Board of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, we extend sincere condolences to members of the Carter family and friends of the late US President Jimmy Carter.

Archbishop Tutu had the deepest love and respect for President Carter, with whom he worked in later life as co-members of The Elders.

On the face of it, besides being born within a few years of each other, Archbishop Tutu and President Carter had little in common. They were children of different continents and circumstances, one a politician and the other a priest.

But they shared a fundamental insight: An appreciation of human inter-connectedness inspired by their faith… What the Archbishop called, membership of one family, the human family, God’s family.

They ran their races in different lanes, but with common moral purpose. Always emphasising the values that set humankind apart, such as fairness, justice and compassion. Both being recognised for exceptional service to humanity with a string of top honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize.

When Archbishop Tutu was elected to chair The Elders, he said the fact that he, a township urchin, was appointed to lead a structure including former Presidents and a former UN Secretary-General reflected God’s sense of humour.

In fact, their co-membership of this structure reflected the extent to which they had burst through traditional hierarchical and professional boundaries to breathe the pure air of human leadership.

On his death in December 2021, President Carter and Mrs Rosalynn Carter said of the Archbishop: “His warmth and compassion offered us a spiritual message that is eternal.” A more apt description of President Carter’s own life of servant leadership would be hard to find.

The fact that a man who embodied such qualities was able to ascend to one of the highest and hardest-nosed political offices on earth, and his grace and commitment to universal human rights over the many years that followed, placed President Carter apart as an extraordinary human being.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Statement signed by:

• Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Chair of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust; and
• Mr Niclas Kjellstrom-Matseke, Chair of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.'

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