Dick Cheney, former U.S. vice president under George W. Bush, died Monday at the age of 84 due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a family statement cited by U.S. media.
Cheney served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he held several key government positions, including White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative for Wyoming, and Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush.
As defense secretary, he oversaw U.S. military operations during the 1990–1991 Gulf War, when a U.S.-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Born on January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney grew up in Wyoming. He attended Yale University before completing a political science degree at the University of Wyoming.
He spent ten years in Congress representing Wyoming and later became a central figure in the George W. Bush administration’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Cheney supported the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Cheney’s daughter, former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, said her father voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Throughout his career, Cheney experienced several major heart problems, including five heart attacks between 1978 and 2010. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery and received a pacemaker in 2001.
