Franklin D. Roosevelt served three terms as President of the United States, from March 1933 to April 1945. He won a third term by defeating Republican nominee Wendell Willkie in the 1940 United States presidential election, and he remains the only president to serve for more than two terms. Roosevelt won a fourth term in 1944, but he died in office on April 12, 1945. Prior to Roosevelt, it was a presidential tradition set by George Washington that presidents only held the office for two terms. Roosevelts unprecedented four terms led to the ratification of the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, which limits all future presidents to two elected terms.