Cheney << CHEE nee >>, Richard Bruce (1941-…), was vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009, under President George W. Bush. Cheney, a former congressman, served as U.S. secretary of defense under Bush’s father, President George H. W. Bush.
In 2000, Bush and Cheney defeated Vice President Al Gore and Connecticut Senator Joseph I. Lieberman in an extremely close election. In the 2004 election, Bush and Cheney defeated their Democratic opponents, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.
As U.S. secretary of defense under President George H. W. Bush, Cheney advised on military strategy against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. He also helped persuade other countries to join U.S.-led forces in the war. As vice president, Cheney also advised on strategy when the United States went to war against Iraq in 2003.
Early life.
Cheney, who is often called Dick Cheney, was born on Jan. 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He moved with his parents to Casper, Wyoming, while still a boy. He entered Yale University on a scholarship but returned home after three semesters. He took a job with an electric company, working on power lines. He then attended the University of Wyoming, earning a B.A. in 1965 and an M.A. in 1966, both in political science.
In 1964, Cheney married Lynne Ann Vincent, a graduate student who went on to earn a Ph.D. in English literature. Lynne Cheney became a college teacher, novelist, and magazine editor. She headed the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993. The couple had two daughters: Elizabeth, called Liz, and Mary.
Career.
The Cheneys moved to the Washington, D.C., area after Richard Cheney received a congressional fellowship in 1968. In 1969, Cheney joined the staff of Donald H. Rumsfeld, then director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Cheney worked for Rumsfeld in various jobs until 1973. In 1974 and 1975, Cheney was a deputy assistant to President Gerald R. Ford. Cheney served as White House chief of staff under Ford from 1975 to 1977.
In 1978, Cheney won election to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Wyoming. He was reelected five times. As a representative, Cheney was known for his conservative political views. In 1988, he became the Republican whip (assistant leader) in the House. He also served on several House committees, including the Select Committee on Intelligence and a committee that investigated the sale of arms by the United States to Iran (see Reagan, Ronald Wilson (The Iran-contra affair)). Cheney gave up his House seat in 1989 after accepting the post of secretary of defense.
After Cheney completed his stint as defense secretary in 1993, he left government service. He became a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He also lectured widely in the United States and joined the boards of several corporations. In 1995, he became the president and chief executive officer of Halliburton Company, an oil-field services and construction firm. In July 2000, George W. Bush asked Cheney to be his running mate. In September 2004, at the Republican Party’s national convention in New York City, delegates officially renominated Bush and Cheney to run for a second term. Cheney wrote a memoir, In My Time (2011).
In March 2012, Cheney underwent successful heart transplant surgery. He had had a history of heart trouble dating back to the 1970’s.
In 2016, Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney won election to the U.S. House seat once held by her father. She was reelected in 2018 and 2020. Liz Cheney became a leading Republican opponent of President Donald J. Trump after hundreds of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She campaigned for reelection to her House seat again in 2022 but lost in the Republican primary election.
See also Bush, George Walker.
