BULLETIN

Hamilton Jordan, Former Carter Strategist And Aide, Dies

(5/20/09) Hamilton Jordan, the former top strategist and aide to Jimmy Carter, died Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer.

Friends said death came at around 7:30 p.m. and that he was comfortable and surrounded by friends. His son, Hamilton, Jr., return from Europe in time to be with his father.

The family plans a service which will likely be on Friday afternoon at The Carter Center. Details to follow in a day or two.

He was 63 years old.

Jordan was a key advisor and strategist for Carter during the 1976 presidential campaign and during Carter's administration. He was White House Chief of Staff in 1979-1980.

In 1986, he ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, losing to Wyche Fowler who went on to win the general election and held the seat for one term.

In 1992, he worked on the campaign of independent candidate H. Ross Perot and has been an advocate for Unity08, a political movement focused on reforming the American two party system.

He had battled two types of cancer. He and his wife founded a camp for children with cancer.

Carter issued this statement: "His judgment, insight, and wisdom were excelled only by his compassion and love of our country. We share the loss of Hamilton with his wife Dorothy and their children, Hamilton Jr., Kathleen, and Alexander. We also share in the remembrance and celebration of Hamilton as a wonderful husband, father, and friend to so many, including the thousands of cancer patients he counseled throughout the years."

Jordan was born in Charlotte, N.C., in 1944 and raised in Albany, Ga. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a political science degree in 1967.

Jordan had a deep political pedigree in Georgia. One grandfather, Hamilton McWhorter Sr., was president of the state senate. His uncle, Hamilton McWhorter Jr., was secretary of the Senate. His second cousin, Robert H. Jordan, was chief justice of the state Supreme Court