Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a central figure in post-9/11 American foreign and domestic policy, died on Monday at the age of 84. According to a statement released by his family, Cheney died from “complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
His family confirmed that “His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed.”
A Nation’s Service
Cheney’s career in public service spanned decades and took him through multiple presidencies. He was born Jan. 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in Wyoming. After earning his degrees at the University of Wyoming, he entered federal service and held several posts, including as White House chief-of-staff to President Gerald R. Ford (1975-77) and as a U.S. Congressman from Wyoming.
He was appointed Secretary of Defense under President George H. W. Bush in 1989 and oversaw U.S. military operations during the Persian Gulf War. In 2001 he became the 46th Vice President of the United States, serving through two terms with President George W. Bush.
During his vice presidency, Cheney’s role was described as unusually expansive. The Washington Post noted that he “acquired a portfolio so broad that former vice-president Dan Quayle … saw him functioning in ‘a sort of co-presidency.’”
Cheney’s name is firmly linked to the post-Sept. 11 war‐on-terror agenda. He was a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and directed expansion of surveillance and detention policies, including what he called “robust interrogation” of terror suspects. His critics argued those policies over-reached constitutional limits; his defenders say they were a necessary response to an unprecedented threat.
Remarkably, Cheney lived with persistent health challenges for years. He survived five heart attacks and underwent a heart transplant in 2012. In its statement the family said he taught his children and grandchildren “to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.”
Former President Bush called Cheney “a decent, honorable man” and said his death was “a loss to the nation.”
Cheney’s post-office years continued to draw attention. He broke with much of his party by criticising Donald Trump, and endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024.
Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne; daughters Liz and Mary