PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: CHANCELLOR HELMUT SCHMIDT (WEST GERMANY) - HFSID 176603

GERALD FORD and HELMUT SCHMIDT
The 38th U.S. President poses with Helmut Schmidt, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, during the latter's state visit in December 1974
Photograph Signed: "Gerald R. Ford" as 38th U.S. President and "Helmut Schmidt" as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. B/w, 4¾x6¾ overall, image 4¾x6¼ (one surface). Ford and Schmidt met in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 1974, less than four months after Ford had become President and seven months after Schmidt became Chancellor. After conducting several meetings, they issued a joint statement on December 6. Ford, who wanted to maintain close ties with Europe, invited Schmidt (as well as French President Valery Discard d'Estaing and British Prime Minister James Callaghan) to his ski house in Vail, Colorado for many years. Both Ford and Schmidt were also instrumental in the development of the G-8 Summits, which first met in 1975, while Ford was President. In June 2007, Schmidt would describe the meetings as "just a theater for the media." HELMUT SCHMIDT (1918-2015) was the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany for three terms (May 17, 1974-September 17, 1982). A veteran of WWII, Schmidt had become interested in politics in 1946, joining the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He would go on to hold several political offices, including serving as a Member of the European Parliament (1958-1961) as well as in Germany's Bundestag. After leaving politics, Schmidt became involved in newspaper publication, and he was one of the founders of the committee that supported the EMU and the creation of the European Central Bank. On August 9, 1974, GERALD R. FORD (1913-2006) was sworn in as the nation's 38th President following the resignation of Richard Nixon. Ford had previously served as Nixon's Vice President (December 6, 1973-August 9, 1974) following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, becoming the only man to have held both of the nation's highest offices without being elected to either. Ford, who was previously a U.S. Congressman from Michigan (1949-1973; Minority Leader, 1965-1973), lost his bid for election to a full four-year term partially as a result of his controversial pardon of his predecessor. Ford, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999, celebrated his 93rd birthday on July 14, 2006. Before his death on December 26, 2006, Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan (who also lived to age 93) as the longest-lived former U.S. President. Slightly creased at blank corners. Fine condition.