The presidency of Ronald Reagan began at noon EST on January 20, 1981, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. Reagan was succeeded by his Vice President, George H. W. Bush, who won the 1988 presidential election with Reagan's support. Leaving office in 1989, Reagan held an approval rating of 68%. This rating matches the approval ratings of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton as the highest rating for a departing president in the modern era. Historians and political scientists generally rank Reagan as an above-average president. This rating matches the approval ratings of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton as the highest rating for a departing president in the modern era. Historians and political scientists generally rank Reagan as an above-average president.
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