Dick Cheney, who transformed the vice presidency into a central seat of power during the post‑9/11 era, has died at 84 from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. He served as secretary of defense, led the Pentagon during the Gulf War, and was a principal architect of many Bush‑era policies, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Cheney's career was both lauded for its political influence and criticized for policies tied to rendition, enhanced interrogation and Guantánamo. Late in life he broke with Donald Trump; his daughter Liz Cheney said he voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.
Dick Cheney, Power Behind the Throne: Former U.S. Vice President Dies at 84
Dick Cheney, who transformed the vice presidency into a central seat of power during the post‑9/11 era, has died at 84 from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. He served as secretary of defense, led the Pentagon during the Gulf War, and was a principal architect of many Bush‑era policies, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Cheney's career was both lauded for its political influence and criticized for policies tied to rendition, enhanced interrogation and Guantánamo. Late in life he broke with Donald Trump; his daughter Liz Cheney said he voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.
17:20, 04.11.2025Politics
Dick Cheney, Power Behind the Throne, Dies at 84
Dick Cheney, the former U.S. vice president who helped reshape the office into a central seat of power during the post‑9/11 era, died Monday at the age of 84. According to a family statement, he 'died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.' Cheney also served as a congressman and as secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush.
Raised primarily in Wyoming and born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941, Cheney briefly attended Yale before completing a political science degree at the University of Wyoming. He represented Wyoming in the U.S. House for a decade and was appointed secretary of defense in 1989, overseeing the Pentagon during the 1990–91 Gulf War.
As vice president from 2001 to 2009, Cheney exercised an unusually large role in shaping administration policy. He advocated an expansive view of executive authority—arguing the president should have broad latitude from Congress and the courts during wartime—which guided many of the Bush administration's most consequential decisions after the September 11 attacks.
Cheney was a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq; his public assertions that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction became part of the case for the war, a claim later proven incorrect. The administration's counterterrorism programs also included renditions, the use of so‑called 'enhanced interrogation' techniques and the establishment of the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay—practices that drew intense domestic and international criticism and a long debate about civil liberties.
“Among the finest public servants of his generation,” said George W. Bush, adding that Cheney was “the one I needed” while in office and praising his intelligence and seriousness of purpose.
Late in life, Cheney became a vocal opponent of Donald Trump. His daughter, former congresswoman Liz Cheney, said he voted for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Cheney's life outside politics was marked by high‑profile incidents and chronic health problems. He accidentally shot a friend during a 2006 hunting trip and suffered multiple heart attacks over several decades, undergoing quadruple bypass surgery and later receiving a pacemaker.
Cheney leaves a complex and contested legacy: admired by allies for his strategic resolve and criticized by opponents for policies that stretched executive power and raised human‑rights concerns. He served two full terms as vice president from 2001 to 2009 and remained an influential voice in Republican foreign‑policy debates until his death.