Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was the 38th President of the United States and served from 1974 to 1977. Prior to becoming the president he was the Vice President serving under President Richard Nixon. He became the president following Nixon’s resignation in 1974 following investigations into Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal. Ford inherited a government mired in controversies and came to the helm as the President during a period of great political turmoil. The United States was going through a period of skyrocketing inflation and recession in the 1970s and the American economy was at a low. One of the immediate actions he took upon assuming office was to create the Economic Policy Board by Executive Order in order to control inflation and set the pace for economic growth. He also took steps to control the rising rate of unemployment which had reached nine percent by 1975. He was not too keen to run for office in 1976 though he reluctantly agreed. He was defeated by the former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, in the presidential election and stepped down from office in 1977 after having served an 895-day presidency. He remained active in politics for long after stepping down from the presidency. Ford lived longer than any other U.S. president, dying at the age of 93 years and 165 days.