The presidency of Jimmy Carter began at noon EST on January 20, 1977, when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, took office after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. His presidency ended with his defeat in the 1980 presidential election by Republican nominee Ronald Reagan. Taking office in the midst of the Cold War, Carter reoriented U.S. foreign policy towards an emphasis on human rights. He continued the conciliatory Cold War policies of his predecessors, normalizing relations with the People's Republic of China and pursuing further Strategic Arms Limitation Talks with the Soviet Union. In an effort to end the Arab–Israeli conflict, he helped arrange the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Through the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, Carter guaranteed the eventual transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama. After the start of the Soviet–Afghan War, he discarded his conciliatory policies towards the Soviet Union and began a period of military build-up.