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Dick Cheney

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Dick Cheney
Official portrait of vice president Dick Cheney
Official portrait, 2003
46th Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byAl Gore
Succeeded byJoe Biden
17th United States Secretary of Defense
In office
March 21, 1989 – January 20, 1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
DeputyDonald J. Atwood Jr.
Preceded byFrank Carlucci
Succeeded byLes Aspin
House Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 1989 – March 20, 1989
LeaderRobert H. Michel
Preceded byTrent Lott
Succeeded byNewt Gingrich
Chair of the House Republican Conference
In office
June 4, 1987 – January 3, 1989
LeaderRobert H. Michel
Preceded byJack Kemp
Succeeded byJerry Lewis
Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee
In office
January 3, 1981 – June 4, 1987
LeaderRobert H. Michel
Preceded byBud Shuster
Succeeded byJerry Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wyoming's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1979 – March 20, 1989
Preceded byTeno Roncalio
Succeeded byCraig L. Thomas
7th White House Chief of Staff
In office
November 21, 1975 – January 20, 1977
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byDonald Rumsfeld
Succeeded byHamilton Jordan (1979)
White House Deputy Chief of Staff
In office
December 18, 1974 – November 21, 1975
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLandon Butler
Personal details
Born
Richard Bruce Cheney

(1941-01-30)January 30, 1941
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedNovember 3, 2025(2025-11-03) (aged 84)
McLean, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1964)​
Children
Education
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Cheney's voice
Cheney on the first day of the Iran-Contra hearings.
Recorded May 5, 1987

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (January 30, 1941 – November 3, 2025) was an American politician and businessman. He was the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. As a Republican, he ran in the 2000 United States presidential election with George W. Bush, and successfully won re-election in the 2004 United States presidential election. Before he became vice president, he was the Secretary of Defense from 1989 to 1993, during George H. W. Bush's presidency.[1] He was also a member of the House of Representatives from 1979 to 1989, and was White House Chief of Staff from 1975 to 1977.

Early life

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Cheney was born at Bryan Medical Center East Campus in Lincoln, Nebraska to Richard Cheney and Marjorie Cheney. Cheney grew up in Casper, Wyoming.[2][3]

Political career prior to 2001

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Dick Cheney was the former representative for Wyoming's At-large congressional district. He served in the George H. W. Bush administration from 1989 to 1993 as a cabinet member.

Business career

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He was also in charge of a large defense company called Halliburton when he was out of office during the Clinton presidency.

Vice presidency (2001–2009)

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As Vice President, Cheney was the head of the Senate and cast six tie-breaking votes and he was replaced by Joe Biden as vice president on January 20, 2009.

Cheney has been called the most powerful vice president in American history.[4] USA Today said that Cheney was a "chief architect of the war in Iraq".[5] He was seen as giving more powers to the vice presidency.[6] He was said to sometimes have had more power than President Bush.[7]

Personal life

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Cheney lived in Wyoming. He was an active hunter. In 2006, he shot a friend by mistake while hunting. He did not run for president in 2008. He has criticized President Barack Obama. His wife Lynne Cheney is a distant cousin of President Barack Obama[8] and he is an 8th cousin of President Barack Obama. He is a 9th cousin, once removed of George W. Bush. Cheney is distantly related to Harry S. Truman and Robert Duvall by the Duvall family. He was distantly related to American Express founder Benjamin Pierce Cheney.

Cheney was a member of the United Methodist Church[9] and was the first Methodist vice president to serve under a Methodist president.[10] His brother, Bob, is a former civil servant at the Bureau of Land Management.[11]

On March 24, 2012, Cheney underwent a seven-hour heart transplant process. Cheney has had several heart attacks.

2024 elections

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In 2024, Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president.[12]

Cheney has been called an "architect of the Iraq War."[13]

Cheney was a supporter of waterboarding, a form of torture.[14][15][16][17]

He opposed sanctions related to South Africanapartheid.[18] In 1983, Cheney joined 337 of his fellow members of the House of the 98th Congress to pass H.R. 3706, which established Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a federal holiday.[19]

Cheney died on the night of November 3, 2025 at his home in McLean, Virginia from problems caused by pneumonia and heart disease, at the age of 84.[20][21]

Dick and Lynne Cheney have 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. Mary Cheney is openly lesbian. Elizabeth Cheney is the former Congresswoman at-large from Wyoming in the United States House of Representatives.

References

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  1. ↑ "Richard B. Cheney – George H.W. Bush Administration". Office of the Secretary of Defense – Historical Office. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Hicks: How about the 'Dick Cheney Plaza'?".
  3. ↑ "Dick Cheney | Biography, Vice Presidency, Halliburton, & Facts | Britannica".
  4. ↑ "Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84". The New York Times. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dick Cheney dies at 84 after powerful VP tenure and Republican career. Live updates". USA Today. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Dick Cheney: The most influential vice president in modern American history". The Independent. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Dick Cheney, one of America's most powerful and polarizing vice presidents, dies at 84". PBS. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Lynne Cheney: VP, Obama are eighth cousins l". Associated Press. October 17, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  9. ↑ Menende, Alberto J (December 12, 2006). "United Methodists fill 62 seats in new Congress". United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  10. ↑ "How many U.S. Presidents/Senators/Representatives have been Methodist? Have we ever had a President and Vice President of the same denomination before?". Frequently Asked Questions – Questions About Methodism. The United Methodist Archives Center at Drew University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  11. ↑ Lemann, Nicholas (April 30, 2001). "The Quiet Man". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he will vote for Harris". NBC News. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  13. ↑ Yancey-Bragg, Joey Garrison, Susan Page, Melina Khan, Adrianna Rodriguez, Francesca Chambers, Jeanine Santucci and N'dea. "Dick Cheney, powerful VP who pushed Iraq invasion, dies at 84". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2025-11-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ News, A. B. C. "Six Memorable Quotes From Former VP Dick Cheney". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-11-05. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ↑ "VP Cheney Admits to Role in CIA Waterboarding Scandal - National Religious Campaign Against Torture". nrcatorg.nonprofitsoapbox.com. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  16. ↑ "Cheney: 'I'd do it again in a minute'". POLITICO. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  17. ↑ "U.S.: Vice President Endorses Torture | Human Rights Watch". 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  18. ↑ https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/cheney-and-apartheid-2711031.php
  19. ↑ "TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS H.R. 3706, A BILL … -- House Vote #289 -- Aug. 2, 1983". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  20. ↑ "'A great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country' - Cheney family". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  21. ↑ Stracqualursi, Stephen Collinson, Veronica (2025-11-04). "Dick Cheney, influential Republican vice president to George W. Bush, dies | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2025-11-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Other websites

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Media related to Dick Cheney at Wikimedia Commons

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