Dick Cheney, who served as vice president under President George W. Bush and was a driving force behind the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, has died at 84, his family announced on Nov. 4.
Cheney died on the night of Nov. 3 from complications of pneumonia and heart and vascular disease, according to a family statement. He battled heart disease for much of his life, suffering his first heart attack at age 37 and receiving a heart transplant in 2012.
A former Wyoming congressman and defense secretary, Cheney was already a powerful Washington insider when Bush chose him as his running mate in 2000. As vice president from 2001 to 2009, he pushed to expand presidential authority and made the vice presidency one of the most influential offices in modern history.
Cheney was a leading advocate for invading Iraq in the early 2000s, arguing that then-President of Iraq Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, claims that were later disproved.
Until his death, Cheney stood by his record, saying that he did what was necessary after the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 2,800 people and set off two decades of divisive wars.
“I believed it then, and I believe it now.”
His daughter Liz Cheney followed him into politics, serving in Congress until she lost her seat after voting to impeach President Donald Trump. Cheney supported her stance and later said he would vote for the Democratic presidential candidate—then-Vice President Kamala Harris—in 2024, calling Trump “a greater threat to [the] republic” than any other individual in U.S. history.
Before his vice presidency, Cheney served as defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush, overseeing the 1991 Gulf War. As vice president, his influence and unapologetic hawkishness earned him both admiration and criticism—and even the nickname “Darth Vader,” which he once jokingly embraced.
Cheney is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lynne Cheney, and their daughters, Liz and Mary Cheney.
In their statement, Cheney’s family described him as “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.”
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country,” the family wrote.
Condolences
News of Cheney’s death drew a number of tributes.George W. Bush called Cheney’s death “a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends.”
The former president recalled how he had first asked Cheney to help him find a running mate in 2000, only to realize that Cheney himself was the right choice.
“I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed,” he said.
“Of course, I think everybody is waking up and thinking about his family,” she said.
“When you hear of a politician who passes, there’s tons of coverage about what they are like as a politician.
“But as a daughter of a politician, as a granddaughter of a politician, I’m just thinking of his daughters and who they are missing, which is not necessarily a man who casts votes, but rather a man who raised them.”
Other political figures also offered condolences.
Womack recalled first meeting Cheney during a 2002 visit to his Army battalion in Egypt’s Sinai and reconnecting with him years later on a trip on the Snake River in the United States, fishing for cutthroat trout.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called Cheney a “wonderful person and a great patriot.”
