U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday ordered all government agencies, except those relating to national security and defense, to be closed on Jan. 2, 2007, to honor former President Gerald Ford, who died Tuesday at the age of 93.

In an executive order, Bush said all executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies shall be closed on Jan. 2, 2007, as a mark of respect for Gerald Ford, the country's 38th president.

But the departments of State, Defense, Justice and Homeland Security, and other government establishments and agencies that relate to national security, defense or other essential public business will remain open on that day.

Also on Thursday, Bush named Jan. 2 as a "National Day of Mourning" throughout the country, "as a further mark of respect to the memory" of Ford, the longest-lived former U.S. president, and "as an expression of public sorrow."

Ford was the only person to have served as president in U.S. history without having been elected either president or vice president.

In 1973, Ford, a congressman from Michigan, was appointed vice president after then vice president Spiro Agnew resigned to avoid prosecution on corruption charges. In August 1974, Ford was sworn in as president, shortly after Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment over the Watergate scandal, and he served in the White House till Jan. 20, 1977.

Funeral services for Ford have been planned for Washington, D.C.; and Grand Rapids of Michigan, his boyhood home, while public viewings will be held in Washington, Grand Rapids and Palm Desert.

Source: Xinhua