Dick Cheney | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2003 | |
| 46th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Al Gore |
| Succeeded by | Joe Biden |
| 17th United States Secretary of Defense | |
| In office March 21, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Deputy | Donald J. Atwood Jr. |
| Preceded by | Frank Carlucci |
| Succeeded by | Les Aspin |
| House Minority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – March 20, 1989 | |
| Leader | Robert H. Michel |
| Preceded by | Trent Lott |
| Succeeded by | Newt Gingrich |
| Chair of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office June 4, 1987 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Leader | Robert H. Michel |
| Preceded by | Jack Kemp |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Lewis |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming's at-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – March 20, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Teno Roncalio |
| Succeeded by | Craig L. Thomas |
| 7th White House Chief of Staff | |
| In office November 21, 1975 – January 20, 1977 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Donald Rumsfeld |
| Succeeded by | Hamilton Jordan (1979) |
| White House Deputy Chief of Staff | |
| In office December 18, 1974 – November 21, 1975 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Landon Butler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Bruce Cheney January 30, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Education |
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| Signature |  |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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Richard Bruce Cheney (/ˈtʃeɪni/ CHAY-nee;[a] born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called the most powerful vice president in American history.[4][5] Cheney previously served as White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, and as the 17th United States secretary of defense in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He is the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney grew up there and in Casper, Wyoming.[6] He attended Yale University before earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as White House chief of staff from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and represented Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, briefly serving as House minority whip in 1989. He was appointed Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, and held the position for most of Bush's term from 1989 to 1993.[7] As secretary, he oversaw Operation Just Cause in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991. While out of office during the Clinton administration, he was the chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.
In July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent vice president Al Gore and senator Joe Lieberman. In 2004, Cheney was reelected to his second term as vice president with Bush as president, defeating their Democratic opponents Senators John Kerry and John Edwards. During Cheney's tenure as vice president, he played a leading behind-the-scenes role in the George W. Bush administration's response to the September 11 attacks and coordination of the Global War on Terrorism. He was an early proponent of invading Iraq, alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction program and had an operational relationship with Al-Qaeda; however, neither allegation was ever substantiated. He also pressured the intelligence community to provide intelligence consistent with the administration's rationales for invading Iraq. Cheney was often criticized for the Bush administration's policies regarding the campaign against terrorism, for his support of wiretapping by the National Security Agency (NSA) and for his endorsement of the U.S.'s "enhanced interrogation" torture program.[8][9][10][11] He publicly disagreed with President Bush's position against same-sex marriage in 2004,[12] but also said it is "appropriately a matter for the states to decide".[13]
Cheney ended his vice presidential tenure as a deeply unpopular figure in American politics with an approval rating of 13 percent.[14] His peak approval rating in the wake of the September 11 attacks was 68 percent.[15] Since leaving the vice presidency, Cheney has been critical of modern Republican leadership, including Donald Trump, going as far as to endorse Trump's challenger in 2024, Democrat Kamala Harris.[16]
- ^ Cheney Holds News Briefing with Republican House Leaders, Aired on CNN December 5, 2000 Archived March 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Cheney Government in Exile Archived December 10, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Alliance for a Strong America Commercial, 2014 on YouTube
- ^ "Cheney: A VP With Unprecedented Power". NPR.org. January 15, 2009. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ Reynolds, Paul (October 29, 2006). "The most powerful vice-president ever?". United Kingdom: BBC News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President, p. 11
- ^ "Richard B. Cheney – George H. W. Bush Administration". Office of the Secretary of Defense – Historical Office. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ^ "Prewar Iraq Intelligence: A Look at the Facts". NPR.org. NPR. November 23, 2005. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Cheney Pushed U.S. to Widen Eavesdropping". The New York Times. May 14, 2006. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Cheney offended by Amnesty criticism Rights group accuses U.S. of violations at Guantanamo Bay". CNN. May 21, 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ Rosenberg, Carol (December 4, 2019). "What the C.I.A.'s Torture Program Looked Like to the Tortured". The New York Times. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "Cheney at odds with Bush on gay marriage – politics". NBC News. August 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ Kaufman, Marc and Allen, Mike. “Cheney splits with Bush on gay marriage ban”, Washington Post via Boston Globe (August 25, 2004).
- ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (August 30, 2011). "Remembering Why Americans Loathe Dick Cheney". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
cheney gallup approvalwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lebowitz, Megan (September 7, 2024). "Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he will vote for Harris". NBC News. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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