- Title: FILE: Former US President Gerald Ford dies aged 93
- Date: 27th December 2006
- Summary: (BN05) WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - SEPTEMBER 14, 1993) (U.S. POOL) FORD WITH FORMER PRESENTS JIMMY CARTER AND GEORGE BUSH, AND CURRENT PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ARRIVING FOR SIGNING CEREMONY IN WHITE HOUSE CLINTON SIGNING ACCORD RELATING TO NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA) AS FORMER PRESIDENTS AND OFFICIALS LOOK ON AND APPLAUD
- Embargoed: 11th January 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Obituaries,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAD5PDJXNYP5BKYP5Z9YCILDTJU
- Story Text: Former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was swept into office after the Watergate scandal and later pardoned Richard Nixon, died at age 93, according to a statement from his widow on Tuesday (December 26).
"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, has passed away at 93 years of age," Bette Ford said in a statement.
"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."
Her statement was released by the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, where Ford has been treated.
A former Republican congressman, Ford took office vowing "our long national nightmare is over." He served for 2 1/2 years with a style often mocked as bumbling until he lost the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Ford had been ailing and largely out of the public eye for several years.
Congressman Gerald R. Ford was unknown outside the United States when he was nominated by President Richard Nixon to replace Vice-President Spiro Agnew, who resigned in October 1973 in the wake of corruption and tax evasion charges.
Ford took over the vice-presidency during the mounting Watergate scandal in which members of Nixon's re-election committee broke into the office of the head of the Democratic Party National Committee. With Nixon's impeachment a very real possibility, Ford travelled thousands of miles throughout the United States, defending the president and encouraging demoralised Republican party workers.
Rather than face impeachment proceedings because of his role in covering up the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974 and Ford become the first unelected vice-president to be sworn in as president without winning a national election.
A month later Ford granted Nixon a full pardon for any offences he may have committed during his presidency. Ford was widely criticised at the time and was required to defend his decision in an unprecedented appearance before a Congressional Sub-Committee. Some observers have since seen the pardon as a crucial step in laying the trauma of Watergate to rest.
During Ford's first year in office U.S. troops finally withdrew from Vietnam as the South Vietnamese army collapsed and North Vietnamese troops took Saigon. In spite of the defeat and humiliation Ford remained adamant that the American people "had not lost their will or their desire to stand up for freedom any place in the world."
Foreign affairs took centre stage during 1975. Arriving in Salzburg for meetings with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Ford made a spectacular entrance when he stumbled while disembarking from his plane, landing at the feet of waiting officials. The talks paved the way for agreement between Egypt and Israel on disengagement following the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
While visiting Helsinki in August 1975 Ford held meetings with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. The two leaders were in the Finnish capital for the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, popularly known as the Helsinki Accords.
A strenuous year of travelling ended in December with a visit to China and lengthy talks with Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and other Chinese leaders.
During his short tenure of the White House there were two attempts to assassinate President Ford, both during visits to California in September 1975. An FBI informer, Sarah Jane Moore, was arrested after firing a gun at the president as he left an hotel in San Francisco on September 23. Lynette Fromme, a member of the Charles Manson "family", was found guilty of the previous attempt in Sacramento three weeks earlier.
During the 1976 election campaign Ford fought off a strong challenge for the Republican nomination by former Hollywood film star Ronald Reagan, but failed to win a full term in the White House, losing narrowly to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Ford maintained an active lifestyle after leaving the White House, swimming, running and taking part in celebrity golf tournaments. He acquired a reputation as an erratic golfer whose errant shots often ricocheted off innocent spectators.
Ford also maintained an active interest in politics, supporting President Bill Clinton's campaign for a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and regularly attending Republican National Conventions.
Since suffering a mild stroke in August 2000 Ford has appeared increasingly frail but continues to swim and play golf. In August 2003 he attended the funeral of his close friend and golfing companion, comedian Bob Hope. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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