Biography of Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913. He served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was also the 40th Vice President, serving from 1973 to 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment and became President when Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Ford was the 5th US President to never be elected to that position, and the only one to never win any national election. He was also the longest-lived president in United States history at the age of 93.

Before becoming Vice President, Ford served 25 years as Representative of Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of those as the Republican Minority Leader.

While President, Gerald Ford pardoned President Nixon and signed the Helsinki Accords. His foreign policies were directed towards less intervention in Vietnamese affiars. Domestically, his tenure saw inflation and a recession. In 1976, he narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but lost the presidental election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

After his presidency had ended, Ford remained active within the Republican party. However, after experiencing some health problems, he was admited to the hospital four separate times in 2006 and died in his home later that year on December 26.

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