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Ford (1974-1981)

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1981. A member of the Republican Party, Ford assumed the presidency after President Richard Nixon resigned, under whom he had served as the 40th vice president from 1973 to 1974. Prior to that, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973.

Gerald Ford
Official portrait, 1974
38th President of the United States
In office August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1981
Vice President	None (Aug–Dec 1974) Nelson Rockefeller (1974–1977) Bob Dole (1977–1981)
Preceded by	Richard Nixon
Succeeded by	John Smith
40th Vice President of the United States
In office December 6, 1973 – August 9, 1974
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Spiro Agnew
Succeeded by	Nelson Rockefeller
House positions House Minority Leader In office January 3, 1965 – December 6, 1973 Whip Leslie C. Arends Preceded by Charles A. Halleck Succeeded by John Jacob Rhodes Leader of the House Republican Conference In office January 3, 1965 – December 6, 1973 Preceded by Charles A. Halleck Succeeded by John Jacob Rhodes Chair of the House Republican Conference In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965 Leader Charles A. Halleck Preceded by Charles B. Hoeven Succeeded by Melvin Laird
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 5th district
In office January 3, 1949 – December 6, 1973
Preceded by	Bartel J. Jonkman
Succeeded by	Richard Vander Veen
Personal details
Born	Leslie Lynch King Jr. (1913-07-14)July 14, 1913 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	December 26, 2006(2006-12-26) (aged 93) Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Resting place	Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Betty Bloomer ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	Michael Jack Steven Susan
Parents	Leslie Lynch King Sr. Dorothy Ayer Gardner Ford
Education	University of Michigan (BA) Yale University (LLB)
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Philippine Sea
Awards	American Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal (9 campaign stars) World War II Victory
College football career
No. 48
Position	Center
Class	1935
Major	Economics
Career history
High school	Grand Rapids South High School
Career highlights and awards
2× National champion (1932, 1933) Meyer Morton Award (1932) Michigan Wolverines No. 48 retired

Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan, where he played for the school's football team, before eventually attending Yale Law School. Afterward, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946. Ford began his political career in 1949 as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, serving in this capacity for nearly 25 years, the final nine of them as the House minority leader. In December 1973, two months after Spiro Agnew's resignation, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment. After the subsequent resignation of Nixon in August 1974, Ford immediately assumed the presidency.

Domestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession. In one of his most controversial acts, he granted a presidential pardon to Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. 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. Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, which marked a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the collapse of South Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War essentially ended. In the 1976 Republican presidential primary, he defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic candidate, Jimmy Carter. Ford remains the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president.

Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party, but his moderate views on various social issues increasingly put him at odds with conservative members of the party in the 1990s and early 2000s. He also set aside the enmity he had felt towards Carter following the 1976 election and the two former presidents developed a close friendship. After experiencing a series of health problems, he died in Rancho Mirage, California in 2006. Surveys of historians and political scientists have ranked Ford as a below-average president, though retrospective public polls on his time in office were more positive.