Gerald Ford was a president.
Gerald Ford . He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment , and consequently the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to executive office . During Ford 's presidency , foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play , and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President . He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger , former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter , making him the first President who succeeded to office as a result of a mid-term vacancy since Chester A. Arthur not to be elected in his own right .