(NewsNation) — Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States, died Monday. He was 84 years old.
Cheney, who served as vice president to George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, died due to complications of pneumonia, cardiac and vascular disease, his family confirmed in a statement.
Known as a “war hawk” who played a pivotal role in the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Cheney also held office as a congressman in Wyoming in the 1980s and as defense secretary for former President George H.W. Bush.
“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing,” the family’s statement said. “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
Cheney previously survived five heart attacks and a heart transplant, according to his 2013 book, “Heart: An American Medical Odyssey.”
In a Tuesday statement, Bush said Cheney will be remembered “among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.”
Dick Cheney’s political career
Richard Bruce Cheney was born in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 30, 1941, and grew up in Casper, Wyo.
Cheney’s tenure as President George W. Bush’s vice president capped a political career that began in 1969. Cheney served the Richard M. Nixon administration in several capacities. Cheney first worked as the assistant director of the Cost of Living Council as well in the Office of Economic Opportunity before shifting to duties within the White House to continue his work for the administration.
After spending a year working in business in the private sector, Cheney returned to politics as a member of Gerald Ford’s transition team after Nixon left the White House amid the Watergate scandal. Cheney served as Nixon’s chief assistant before moving into the role of White House Chief of Staff for the remainder of Ford’s tenure in the Oval Office.
Cheney returned to his home state in 1977 and served as Wyoming’s lone Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected five times and was selected as the Republican Party’s policy committee chairman. He was chosen as the House Republican Conference in 1987 before being selected as House Minority Whip in 1988.
Cheney worked as Secretary of Defense between 1989 and 1993 under President George H.W. Bush when he oversaw two of the country’s biggest military campaigns – Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East.
Cheney’s leadership overseeing the conflicts earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.
After Bush lost his re-election bid, Cheney returned to the private sector. He served as a fellow at the conservative think tank, The American Enterprise Institute before becoming the chairman and chief executive officer of the Haliburton Company.
Cheney originally declined George W. Bush’s request to be the nominee for vice president, choosing instead to serve as a consultant for the role. But when no suitable candidates could be found, accepted the request and joined the ticket.
As Vice President, Cheney leaned heavily into his expertise in foreign policy, which was called into action after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. His decision-making and approach to the war on terror helped to shape the administration’s stance on national security.
Post-administration, Cheney drew the ire of President Donald Trump, whom Cheney called the greatest “threat to our republic” in its history.
His daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was the leading in-party critic of Trump’s attempts to stay in power after the 2020 election and during the ensuing Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
In 2024, Cheney announced he would vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.