Former President Carter in hospital

Former President Jimmy Carter in Santo Domingo, October 8, 2009.

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter was rushed to a hospital on Tuesday after developing an upset stomach during a flight to Cleveland but plans to resume a book-signing tour on Wednesday, the Carter Center said.

Carter, who turns 86 on Friday, has been active in international diplomacy since serving as president from 1977 to 1981, particularly in intervening on behalf of Americans detained abroad and as an observer of foreign elections.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Carter was "resting comfortably," said a statement by the Atlanta-based Carter Center.

"At his doctor's recommendation, President Carter will remain overnight to rest at Metro Health Hospital in Cleveland and plans to resume his book tour tomorrow (Wednesday) in Washington, D.C.," the Center said in a later statement.

The airport's rescue and fire fighting units were dispatched to meet a distressed passenger aboard an inbound flight, said Cleveland airport spokeswoman Jacqueline Mayo, adding that paramedics then transferred Carter to hospital.

The hospital's emergency room was cleared of non-essential personnel before he arrived, local media said.

Carter had been due to appear at midday at the Joseph-Beth Booksellers in the Cleveland suburb of Lyndhurst to sign copies of his new book "White House Diary" but disappointed scores of people who lined up to see him.

President Barack Obama called Carter from Air Force One on a tour to drum up support for Democrats in the November 2 vote.

"President Obama spoke to President Carter. Sounded like he was doing great, to the point where he is going to get back on his book tour tomorrow," White House spokesman Bill Burton said.

Last month, Carter went to North Korea to secure the release of an American teacher convicted of illegally entering the reclusive country.

He left Pyongyang with Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was arrested in January and sentenced to eight years of hard labor.

Carter made waves this month with the publication of his latest book and accompanying interviews in which he fiercely criticized the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a fellow Democrat, for his approach to reforming the U.S. healthcare system.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Matthew Bigg and Andrew Stern; Editing by Kevin Gray and Anthony Boadle)