German President Horst Koehler on Wednesday offered his condolences on the death of former U.S. president Gerald Ford, praising him for his contribution to German-U.S. relations.

In a message sent to U.S. President George W. Bush, Koehler said Ford was "a founding father" of the Group of Eight (G8), an organization that groups the eight most developed nations in the world.

"In close cooperation with then chancellor Helmut Schmidt, he did a great deal for German-American partnership," Koehler said.

He added that Ford was "a great American and served his country in difficult times."

Ford died at age of 93 at his home in the American state of California.

Ford was the only US president who was not elected to either the presidency or vice presidency.

Following Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal in 1974, Ford took over as the country's 38th president and served as U.S. president till he lost the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Source: Xinhua