Former United States Vice President Dick Cheney passed away at the age of 84 on Monday night due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation,” his family said in a statement, praising his long years of public service. “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country,” they added.
Cheney served as vice president under President George W. Bush from January 2001 to January 2009. He was a defining figure of the post-9/11 era and a key architect of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
When terrorists attacked the United States on 11 September 2001, Cheney took charge as President Bush was out of Washington.
Cheney worked in Washington for nearly four decades. He served as the youngest White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford; represented Wyoming in the US House of Representatives, where he collaborated closely with congressional leadership and President Ronald Reagan; served as Secretary of Defence under President George H. W. Bush; and later completed two terms as vice president under Bush’s son, George W. Bush.
Cherney also served as CEO of Halliburton, a Texas-based energy company with a global presence.
In later years, Cheney became a target of President Donald Trump, particularly after his daughter, Liz Cheney, emerged as one of Trump’s leading Republican critics.
Cheney survived five heart attacks and stated in 2013 that he woke up each morning with a smile his my face, thankful for the gift of another day.
