Former United States Vice President Dick Cheney, a central figure in America’s post-9/11 “war on terror” and one of the most influential vice presidents in U.S. history, has died at 84.
His family said Cheney passed away from complications related to pneumonia and heart disease, surrounded by his wife of 61 years, Lynne, and their daughters, Liz and Mary.
“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,” the family said in a statement.
Cheney served as vice president under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, where he played a key role in shaping U.S. foreign policy following the September 11 attacks, including the controversial decision to invade Iraq.
In later years, Cheney broke sharply with his Republican Party over its embrace of Donald Trump, calling the former president “a coward” and “the greatest threat to the republic.” In 2024, he said he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris, a striking departure from his conservative roots.
A survivor of multiple heart attacks, Cheney underwent a heart transplant in 2012, which he later described as “the gift of life itself.”
