Richard Milhous Nixon (9 January 1913 to 22 April 1994) was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 and the only president to resign from the position. He had previously served as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, and prior to that as both a U.S. Representative (elected in 1946) and Senator (elected in 1950) from California. Under his administration, US foreign policy employed “Vietnamisation” during the Second Indochina War (1955-1975), proposed a decrease of US military capabilities through the Nixon Doctrine and pursued détente relations with the Soviet Union and China. In relation to the conflict in Vietnam, Nixon ended the military draft, successfully brought back all American POWs and is credited for ending American involvement in the war by 1973. Despite relatively positive domestic policies in the US, by late 1973 the Watergate scandal had escalated, losing Nixon much of his political support. On 9 August 1974, Richard Nixon resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office. After his resignation, he was issued a controversial pardon by his successor, President Gerald Ford.
