(born 1913) Thirty-eighth president of the United States, the first to become so without being elected either to that office or the vice-presidency. A highly regarded moderate Republican from Michigan, he served in Congress for twenty-five years, first elected in 1948, and as House Minority Leader from 1965 to 1973. He was chosen by Richard Nixon under the terms of the 25th Amendment to replace Spiro Agnew (who had resigned after pleading no contest to a charge of tax evasion), and, within a year, after the Watergate scandal had led to Nixon’s resignation, he took the oath of office as president (August 9, 1974). As president he endeavored to deal with inflation and recession, the energy crisis and a general post-Vietnam and Watergate malaise. After limited success in dealing with the economy and in negotiations on nuclear weapons with the Soviet Union, Ford lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter.

His wife, Betty (1918–), was a well-respected First Lady. A vocal supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, she also suffered a diagnosis of breast cancer while in the White House and used this as a chance to educate Americans about this disease. Then, after recovering from alcohol dependency in 1978, she founded the Betty Ford Center in 1982, which is now considered the leading treatment facility for alcoholism and drug addiction (and so is frequently mentioned in the tabloid coverage of athletes, movie stars and other celebrities).