The presidency of Jimmy Carter began at noon EST on January 20, 1977, when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 1981. His presidency ended with his defeat in the 1980 presidential election by Republican nominee Ronald Reagan. Carter was elected as the Governor of Georgia in 1970, and during his four years in office he earned a reputation as a progressive, racially moderate Southern governor. Observing George McGovern's success in the 1972 Democratic primaries, Carter came to believe that he could win the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination by running as an outsider unconnected to establishment politicians in Washington, D.C. Carter declared his candidacy for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination in December 1974 and swore 'To never lie to the American people'. In 1978, Carter became the first sitting president to make an official state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, a reflection of the region's new importance under the Carter administration's foreign policy.
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