Dick Cheney, 84, reshaped the vice presidency and became a focal point of post‑9/11 policy debates

Richard B. "Dick" Cheney, the forceful conservative who rose to become one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in American history and a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has died at 84. His family said Tuesday that he died Monday from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.

From Wyoming to the Pentagon and the White House

Before returning to public life as vice president under President George W. Bush, Cheney served as defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush, overseeing U.S. forces during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Between his government posts he led Halliburton, a Dallas‑based oilfield services company, and earlier built a long career in Congress representing Wyoming.

The modern vice presidency

Cheney transformed the vice presidency from a largely ceremonial role into a powerful center of influence and back‑channel decision making. Often described as the White House's chief operating officer, he exercised wide authority over national security, energy policy and executive power, frequently pressing hard‑line positions that reflected his long-held conservative views.

Iraq, counterterrorism and controversy

Cheney was an ardent advocate for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and a staunch defender of the sweeping surveillance, detention and interrogation measures adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many of the war's central rationales—most notably alleged links between Saddam Hussein's regime and the 9/11 attacks—were later discredited, and the conflict produced years of violent insurgency and heavy U.S. casualties. Critics faulted Cheney for secrecy and for policies they say expanded presidential power at the expense of civil liberties.

"History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held," former President George W. Bush said in a statement.

Personal life, health and later years

Cheney's long public life was matched by persistent health problems; he lived for decades with heart disease and later underwent a heart transplant. A private man by nature, he was nevertheless publicly supportive of his daughter Mary Cheney after she came out as gay, saying, "Freedom means freedom for everyone." His other daughter, Liz Cheney, later became a prominent Republican critic of Donald Trump, provoking family and political tensions that thrust the elder Cheney back into public debate.

In 2006, Cheney accidentally shot a hunting companion, Harry Whittington, in an incident that drew criticism for the administration's slow initial disclosure; Whittington recovered and forgave him. In later years, Cheney publicly broke with Donald Trump and said he planned to vote for Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump.

Legacy

Cheney's legacy is complex and contested: praised by allies as a serious and effective public servant who strengthened U.S. defenses and the executive branch; criticized by others for secrecy, the expansion of presidential power, and his role in the Iraq War. His influence remade the expectations and reach of the vice presidency.

Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in Casper, Wyoming. He attended Yale University for a year on scholarship before returning to Wyoming, where he married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Anne Vincent, in 1964. He is survived by his wife and daughters.