Dick Cheney
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.
Dick Cheney | |||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2003 | |||||||||
| 46th Vice President of the United States | |||||||||
| In office January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 | |||||||||
| President | George W. Bush | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Al Gore | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Joe Biden | ||||||||
| 17th United States Secretary of Defense | |||||||||
| In office March 21, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | |||||||||
| President | George H. W. Bush | ||||||||
| Deputy | Donald J. Atwood Jr. | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Frank Carlucci | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Les Aspin | ||||||||
| House Minority Whip | |||||||||
| In office January 3, 1989 – March 20, 1989 | |||||||||
| Leader | Robert H. Michel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Trent Lott | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Newt Gingrich | ||||||||
| Chair of the House Republican Conference | |||||||||
| In office June 4, 1987 – January 3, 1989 | |||||||||
| Leader | Robert H. Michel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Jack Kemp | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jerry Lewis | ||||||||
| Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee | |||||||||
| In office January 3, 1981 – June 4, 1987 | |||||||||
| Leader | Robert H. Michel | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Bud Shuster | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jerry Lewis | ||||||||
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming's at-large district | |||||||||
| In office January 3, 1979 – March 20, 1989 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Teno Roncalio | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Craig L. Thomas | ||||||||
| 7th White House Chief of Staff | |||||||||
| In office November 21, 1975 – January 20, 1977 | |||||||||
| President | Gerald Ford | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Donald Rumsfeld | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Hamilton Jordan (1979) | ||||||||
| White House Deputy Chief of Staff | |||||||||
| In office December 18, 1974 – November 21, 1975 | |||||||||
| President | Gerald Ford | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Landon Butler | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Richard Bruce Cheney January 30, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | November 3, 2025 (aged 84) McLean, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Political party | Republican | ||||||||
| Spouse(s) | |||||||||
| Children | |||||||||
| Education |
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| Signature |  | ||||||||
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Early life
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
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. He was a Congressman, and White House Chief of Staff.
Business career
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)
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. I should have visited NYC when he was the vice president.
Cheney has been called the most powerful vice president in American history.[4] USA Today said that Cheney was the "chief architect of the war in Iraq".[5] He was seen as giving more powers to the vice presidency and making it more powerful.[6] He was said to sometimes have had more power than President Bush.[7]
Personal life
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
In 2024, Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president.[12]
Legacy
He was known as the archtecht of the Iraq War.
He was the guy who pushed waterboarding.[13][14][15][16]
He opposed sanctions related to apartheid[17]. 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, 88 of those being Republicans.[18]
Death
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.[19][20]
Family
Dick and Lynne Cheney have 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. Mary is openly lesbian and Dick supports same sex marriage along with Mary. Liz is the former Congresswoman at-large from Wyoming in the United States House of Representatives.
Dick Cheney Media
White House Chief of Staff Cheney, 1976
Representative Cheney in 1984
Cheney meets with President Ronald Reagan, July 1983
Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, 1989–1993
Secretary Cheney with President George H. W. Bush, 1991
Secretary of Defense Cheney delivering a speech before the launch of destroyer USS Arleigh Burke
Cheney meets with Prince Sultan, Minister of Defence and Aviation in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to handle the invasion of Kuwait, December 1, 1990
Bush meets with Robert Gates, General Colin Powell, Secretary Cheney, and others about the situation in the Persian Gulf and Operation Desert Shield, January 15, 1991
The Bush–Cheney ticket won the 2000 presidential election with 271 electoral votes but with only 47.9% of the popular vote, less than their opposition ticket, Gore–Lieberman, which received 48.3%.
Cheney watching the initial 9/11 attack
References
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Hicks: How about the 'Dick Cheney Plaza'?".
- ↑ "Dick Cheney | Biography, Vice Presidency, Halliburton, & Facts | Britannica".
- ↑ "Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84". The New York Times. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Dick Cheney dies at 84 after powerful VP tenure and Republican career. Live updates". USA Today. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Dick Cheney: The most influential vice president in modern American history". The Independent. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Dick Cheney, one of America's most powerful and polarizing vice presidents, dies at 84". PBS. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ Lynne Cheney: VP, Obama are eighth cousins l. October 17, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21340764#.T3uFUxB5mSM. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Lemann, Nicholas (April 30, 2001). "The Quiet Man". The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/05/07/the-quiet-man-nicholas-lemann. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he will vote for Harris". NBC News. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ↑ 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) - ↑ "VP Cheney Admits to Role in CIA Waterboarding Scandal - National Religious Campaign Against Torture". nrcatorg.nonprofitsoapbox.com. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ "Cheney: 'I'd do it again in a minute'". POLITICO. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ "U.S.: Vice President Endorses Torture | Human Rights Watch". 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/cheney-and-apartheid-2711031.php
- ↑ "TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS H.R. 3706, A BILL … -- House Vote #289 -- Aug. 2, 1983". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ 'A great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country' - Cheney family. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c4gpxe1kg8kt. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ 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.
Other websites
Media related to Dick Cheney at Wikimedia Commons
- US Department of State from the Internet Archive
- The New York Times — Dick Cheney archives
- Vice Presidential Debate, October 5, 2004: Transcript text, Audio and Video (RealPlayer or MPG format)