Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. He was previously the 40th Vice President of the United States, appointed when Spiro Agnew resigned from office, and later became the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment. Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a law degree and in 1941, he joined the US Naval Reserve, where he served during World War II. Ford first entered politics in 1948 when he was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Republican from Michigan. He was elected to thirteen two-year terms and served as House Minority Leader from 1965 to 1973. In 1974, President Richard Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President of the United States (under Section 2 of the 25th Amendment). Following Nixon's resignation, on August 9, 1974, Ford became the first person appointed Vice President under the terms of the 25th Amendment. Though Ford was never elected President, he accepted the nomination of the Republican Party to become its candidate after President Nixon's resignation. Ford defeated Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election—the closest in the nation's history—to become the 38th President of the United States. Ford was considered to have had moderate-to-liberal policies; his presidency saw the restoration of presidential authority after notice of American fragility, the midterm repudiation of the Watergate era, and the negotiation of the controversial Panama Canal Treaties of 1977. His pardon of former President Richard Nixon was highly controversial at the time. Ford died on December 26, 2006 at the age of 93 in Rancho Mirage, California, from complications of a stroke. He is survived by his wife, Betty Ford, and three of his four children.