Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States who served from 1850 to 1853. He was the last Whig president and also the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. At the beginning of his career Fillmore was associated with the democratic and libertarian Anti-Masonic Movement and Anti-Masonic Party. He was a protégé of the leading anti-Mason, Thurlow Weed, and when Weed left the anti-Masons, Fillmore too followed suit. Soon Weed became a prominent Whig organizer, and Fillmore again followed his mentor and joined the Whigs. A lawyer by profession, Fillmore served in the state legislature as a U.S. Representative. He went on to become the first New York State Comptroller elected by general ballot. He enjoyed great success as a politician, and was nominated by the Whig Party to run as vice president with presidential candidate Zachary Taylor in 1848. Taylor won the presidential election and Fillmore became the vice president. President Taylor died suddenly in 1850, plunging the nation into political chaos. Fillmore took over the reins as the president and attempted to restore political stability. He however proved to be an unpopular president and was not re-nominated for presidency by the Whig Party in 1852