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Dick Cheney, Powerful and Polarizing Former Vice President, Dies at 84

His death renews debate over his outsized post-9/11 influence, from expanded executive power to the Iraq War.

Overview

  • His family said he died on November 3 from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease while surrounded by his wife, Lynne, and daughters, Liz and Mary.
  • He served as White House chief of staff, Wyoming’s congressman, secretary of defense overseeing Operation Desert Storm, and two-term vice president under George W. Bush.
  • He was a chief architect of the post-9/11 “war on terror” and a leading advocate of the 2003 Iraq invasion, tied to disputed WMD intelligence and harsh detention and surveillance policies.
  • Cheney battled severe heart disease for decades, surviving five heart attacks and receiving a heart transplant in 2012.
  • In later years he broke with the Trump-aligned GOP and said he voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, contributing to sharply divided reactions to his legacy.