Gerald Ford

GERALD FORD d2006. American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. Prior to his accession to the presidency he served as the 40th Vice President between December 1973 to August 1974. He is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected to either office. As president, he signed the  Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward detente in the Cold War. With the collapse of South Vietnam nine months into his presidency, US involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, he presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his most controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During his presidency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In the Republican presidential primary campaign of 1976, he defeated former California Governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination. He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter. Following his years as president, he remained active in the Republican Party. His moderate views on various social issues increasingly put him at odds with Conservative members of the party in the 1990s and early 2000s. After experiencing a series of health problems, he died at home aged 93 on December 26th 2006.