Dick Cheney, Ex-U.S. VP, Dies At 84

Dick Cheney, one of America’s most influential vice presidents and a chief architect of the post-9/11 “war on terror”, has died at 84, his family announced.

“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne; his daughters, Liz and Mary; and other family members were with him as he passed,” the family said in a statement, adding that he died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.

“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live lives of courage, honour, love, kindness, and fly-fishing,” they added.

Cheney, who served under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, was a dominant force in U.S. foreign policy, helping steer the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11 attacks.

His tough stance on national security and defence left a lasting but divisive legacy, especially over the use of “enhanced interrogations” and the Iraq War’s faulty intelligence.

A former defence secretary, White House chief of staff, and Wyoming congressman, Cheney’s career spanned five decades of Washington power.

In later years, he broke off from the party and branded President Donald Trump as “a coward” and “the greatest threat to the republic.”

In 2024, he backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for president, saying it was his duty to “put country above partisanship.”

Cheney, who battled heart disease for much of his life and received a heart transplant in 2012, is survived by his wife, Lynne; daughters, Liz and Mary; and seven grandchildren.