Ford became president in August 1974 after Richard Nixon resigned following the Watergate scandal. He died Tuesday at the age of 93, his office in Rancho Mirage, California, reported.

President George W. Bush called Betty Ford to express his condolences soon after hearing the news, a White House spokesman said.

Ford "assumed the presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division," Bush said in a statement. "With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, president Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency."

Bush is scheduled to make a statement about Ford's death Wednesday at 1300 GMT from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he is spending the holidays.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who was chief of staff in Ford's White House, said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened" by the news.

Ford "assumed the nation's highest office during the greatest constitutional crisis since the Civil War. In that troubled era, America needed strength, wisdom, and good judgment, and those qualities came to us in the person of Gerald R. Ford," Cheney wrote.

By the time Ford left office in January 1977 "he had restored public trust in the presidency, and the nation once again looked to the future with confidence and faith," Cheney said.

In California Nancy Reagan, widow of former president Ronald Reagan, said that Ford's "accomplishments and devotion to our country are vast, and even long after he left the presidency he made it a point to speak out on issues important to us all."

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that the country "has lost a man whose integrity, strength of character and commitment to this nation distinguished him as one of our most selfless leaders."

Ford "accepted the enormous responsibilities of the presidency during a dark hour in our history, fully knowing the daunting challenge he faced.

"Ford, Nixon and Reagan were members of the Republican Party, as is the current president, Cheney and Schwarzenegger.

Agence France Presse