Gerald R. Ford
Thirty-Eighth
President,
1974–1977
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“You know, the President of the United States is not a magician who can wave a wand or sign a paper that will instantly end a war, cure a recession, or make a bureaucracy disappear.”
Famous Firsts:
Extraordinary circumstances brought Gerald Ford to the presidency. Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon's vice-president, resigned in 1973 when he was accused of tax evasion. Nixon nominated Ford as his new vice-president, and the nomination was approved. Less than a year later, Nixon resigned from office and Ford became president. Though Ford was criticized for pardoning Nixon for his offenses, he restored a measure of honesty and dignity to the White House while facing a myriad of challenges in office: diminished confidence in the Presidency, inflation and a depressed economy, energy shortages, Middle East tensions, and uneasy relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
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Portrait by
Everett R. Kinstler
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1987
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NPG.87.245
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Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
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Fast Facts
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Party: |
Republican
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Date of Birth: |
Monday, July 14, 1913
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Date of Death: |
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
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Vice President: |
Nelson A. Rockefeller
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First Lady: |
Betty Bloomer Warren Ford
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