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. 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.

### 2024 elections

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

### Legacy

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

Cheney was a supporter of waterboarding, a form of torture.

He opposed sanctions related to South African apartheid. 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.

### 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.

## 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.

## Other websites

- 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)

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Dick Cheney
- **image**: 46 Dick Cheney 3x4.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2003
- **alt**: Official portrait of vice president Dick Cheney
- **order**: 46th Vice President of the United States
- **president**: George W. Bush
- **term start**: January 20, 2001
- **term end**: January 20, 2009
- **predecessor**: Al Gore
- **successor**: Joe Biden
- **office1**: 17th United States Secretary of Defense
- **president1**: George H. W. Bush
- **deputy1**: Donald J. Atwood Jr.
- **term start1**: March 21, 1989
- **term end1**: January 20, 1993
- **predecessor1**: Frank Carlucci
- **successor1**: Les Aspin
- **office2**: Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Whip
- **leader2**: Robert H. Michel
- **term start2**: January 3, 1989
- **term end2**: March 20, 1989
- **predecessor2**: Trent Lott
- **successor2**: Newt Gingrich
- **office3**: Chair of the House Republican Conference
- **leader3**: Robert H. Michel
- **term start3**: June 4, 1987
- **term end3**: January 3, 1989
- **predecessor3**: Jack Kemp
- **successor3**: Jerry Lewis (California politician), Jerry Lewis
- **office4**: Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee
- **leader4**: Robert H. Michel
- **term start4**: January 3, 1981
- **term end4**: June 4, 1987
- **predecessor4**: Bud Shuster
- **successor4**: Jerry Lewis (California politician), Jerry Lewis
- **state5**: Wyoming
- **term start5**: January 3, 1979
- **term end5**: March 20, 1989
- **predecessor5**: Teno Roncalio
- **successor5**: Craig L. Thomas
- **office6**: 7th White House Chief of Staff
- **president6**: Gerald Ford
- **term start6**: November 21, 1975
- **term end6**: January 20, 1977
- **predecessor6**: Donald Rumsfeld
- **successor6**: Hamilton Jordan (1979)
- **office7**: White House Deputy Chief of Staff
- **president7**: Gerald Ford
- **term start7**: December 18, 1974
- **term end7**: November 21, 1975
- **predecessor7**: Position established
- **successor7**: Landon Butler
- **birth name**: Richard Bruce Cheney
- **birth place**: Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
- **death place**: McLean, Virginia, U.S.
- **party**: Bob Dole, Republican
- **signature**: Dick Cheney Signature.svg
- **signature alt**: Cursive signature in ink