Gerald Ford was a President.
Gerald Ford . As President , Ford signed the Helsinki Accords , marking a move toward détente in the Cold War . With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency , U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended . 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 .