Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away at the age of 96, significantly transformed the role of the first lady by establishing an office in the East Wing and hiring a full staff. She served as a trusted adviser to President Jimmy Carter, actively participating in both foreign and domestic affairs. Rosalynn was a strong advocate for mental health care and the Equal Rights Amendment, promoting gender equality. Her recent hospice care coincided with that of her husband, Jimmy Carter, highlighting their enduring legacy of humanitarian efforts.
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She was the first presidential spouse to set up an office in the East Wing and hire a full staff. Many recalled Rosalynn Carter carrying a brief case filled with papers to the office every day.
She was a trusted adviser to the president, a participant in foreign and domestic affairs and often set up weekly meetings with Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office, Kate Anderson Brower, author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies," told USA Today in 2018.
Carter traveled the world, promoting her own platform of improving mental health care and her husband's position on human rights. She lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment which granted legal gender equality to women and men.