Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney
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 (1941-01-30)January 30, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	November 3, 2025(2025-11-03) (aged 84) McLean, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lynne Vincent ​ (m. 1964)​
Children	Liz Mary
Education	Yale University (attended) University of Wyoming (BA, MA) University of Wisconsin, Madison (attended)
Signature
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. 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

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

Political career prior to 2001

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

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.

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

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 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 and was the first Methodist vice president to serve under a Methodist president. His brother, Bob, is a former civil servant at the Bureau of Land Management.

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

Family

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

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)