Ronald Reagan He also strongly advocated the Republican ideal of less government regulation of the economy, including that of undue federal taxation. Reagan did not seek re-election to a third term as governor in 1974; he was succeeded by the Secretary of State, Democrat Jerry Brown, who took office on January 6, 1975. In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the American Conservative Union, which became key components of his political base, while Ford
Ronald Reagan the WPPAC's Top Honor Prize because he signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with H.E. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (then President of Russia), ending the cold war. On January 18, 1993, Reagan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (awarded with distinction), the highest honor that the United States can bestow, from President George H. W. Bush, his Vice President and successor. Reagan was also awarded the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by Republican members of the Senate. On Reagan's 87th birthday, in 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by a bill signed