Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the key figures who oversaw the U.S. government’s response to the 9/11 terror attack and is considered to be the most powerful person to have served in the role, died Monday at the age of 84.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney died at 84 on Monday.
Copyright 2011 AP. All rights reserved.
Key Takeaways
- In a statement Tuesday morning, the Cheney family said the former vice president died on Monday night “due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
- The statement said Cheney’s wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed.
- The family’s statement added: “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.”
- Cheney was President George W. Bush’s deputy for both of his terms from 2001 to 2009 and before that he served as the Secretary of Defense during the George H.W. Bush administration.
- Cheney lived with cardiac issues for a major part of his adult life, having suffered five heart attacks between 1978 to 2010 and receiving a heart transplant in 2012.
Key Background
Cheney’s time in Washington began in 1974, when he joined the Ford administration first as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, then as Chief of Staff. He entered Congress in 1979 after being elected to the House from Wyoming and would eventually rise to become the House Minority Whip.
When George W. Bush picked him as his running mate in the 2000 election, Cheney had already served as the Pentagon chief during his father’s administration from 1989 to 1993. After Bush won in 2000, Cheney would go on to become the most influential and powerful vice president in history and was considered a key driving force behind the U.S. military response after 9/11, including the invasion of Iraq.
Tangent
In the past few years, the fiercely conservative leader—who pushed to strengthen presidential power—had become a fierce critic of President Donald Trump. While Cheney had supported the president in the 2016 election, he broke with him publicly after the January 6 Capitol Riots.
In a 2022 campaign video for his daughter Liz Cheney, who had become one of Trump’s most vocal opponents within the GOP, the former vice president said: “In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump…He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward.” Last year, he announced he would be voting for Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the presidential election.
Crucial Quote
In an Instagram post, Bush paid homage to his White House deputy: “The death of Richard B. Cheney is a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends. Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was…Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges. I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He held to his convictions and prioritised the freedom and security of the American people.”
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