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Billy Carter
Billy Carter (right), greets his brother, President Jimmy Carter, at the commencement ceremonies at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta February 20, 1979.
Born	William Alton Carter (1937-03-29)March 29, 1937 Plains, Georgia
Died	September 25, 1988(1988-09-25) (aged 51) Plains, Georgia
Cause of death	Pancreatic cancer
Occupation	farmer businessman politician
Spouse(s)	Sybil Spires (m. 1955; his death 1988)
Children	6
Parent(s)	James Earl Carter Sr. Lillian Gordy Carter

William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937^[1] – September 25, 1988) was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician, and the younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Carter promoted Billy Beer and was a candidate for mayor of Plains, Georgia.

Early years

Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, to James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Gordy Carter. He was named after his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather, William Carter Sr. and William Archibald Carter Jr. respectively. He attended Emory University in Atlanta but did not complete a degree. He served four years in the United States Marine Corps, then returned to Plains to work with his brother in the family business of growing peanuts. In 1955, at the age of 18, he married Sybil Spires (b. 1939), also of Plains. They were the parents of six children: Kim, Jana, William "Buddy" Carter IV, Marle, Mandy, and Earl, who was 12 years old when his father died.

1970s and later

In 1972, Billy Carter purchased a gas and service station in Plains. He owned and operated it for most of the decade.^[2]

Carter ran for mayor of Plains in 1976, but lost the election by a few votes. It was his only attempt to win elective office.^{[3][page needed]}

In the 1970s Billy Carter was the official spokesperson for Peanut Lolita liqueur while his brother, Jimmy Carter held presidential office.^[4]

In 1977, he endorsed Billy Beer, introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company, who wished to capitalize upon his colorful image as a beer-drinking Southern good ol' boy that developed in the press when his brother ran for President. Carter's name was occasionally used as a gag answer for a Washington, D.C., trouble-maker on 1970s episodes of Match Game. He was known for his outlandish public behavior; he once urinated on an airport runway in full view of the press and dignitaries.^[5]

Relationship with Libya

In late 1978 and early 1979, Billy Carter visited Libya three times with a contingent from Georgia. He eventually registered as a foreign agent of the Libyan government and received a $220,000 loan. (Edwin P. Wilson claimed he had seen a telegram showing that Libya paid Billy Carter $2 million.^[6]) This led to a Senate hearing on alleged influence peddling which the press named Billygate.^[7] A Senate sub-committee was called To Investigate Activities of Individuals Representing Interests of Foreign Governments (Billy Carter—Libya Investigation). On August 4, 1980, President Jimmy Carter wrote: "I am deeply concerned that Billy has received funds from Libya and that he may be under obligation to Libya. These facts will govern my relationship with Billy as long as I am president. Billy has had no influence on U.S. policy or actions concerning Libya in the past, and he will have no influence in the future."^[8]

Death

Carter was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 1987 and received unsuccessful treatments for the disease. He died in Plains the following year at the age of 51. His death came just five years after the death of his sister Ruth Stapleton, who also died of pancreatic cancer when she was in her 50s.^[9]

In 1999, Carter's son William "Buddy" Carter IV published a biography of his father titled Billy Carter: A Journey Through the Shadows (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}ISBN 1-56352-553-4).

See also

• List of scandals with "-gate" suffix

References

External links

• FBI file on Billy Carter


• Inquiry into the matter of Billy Carter and Libya: hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Activities of Individuals Representing the Interests of Foreign Governments of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, August 4, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, September 4, 5, 9, 10, 16, 17, and October 2, 1980


• Billy Carter's "Redneck Power Pick-up" model


• 
  "Billy Carter Has Surgery". The New York Times. September 12, 1987. p. 34 (section 1).
  


• 
  "Billy Carter". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  


• 
  Blanco, José F. (2010). "Becoming Billy Carter: Clothes Make the Man (and His Many Characters)". Southern Cultures. 16 (2): 6–30. doi:10.1353/scu.0.0108.