The 46th vice president of U.S Dick Cheney, serving under Republican president George W. Bush for two terms between 2001 and 2009 has died at the age of 84.
According to a statement from his family, Cheney died on Monday night from complications of pneumonia as well as cardiac and vascular disease
“Richard B. Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died last night, November 3, 2025. He was 84 years old.
“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” the family said in a statement.
Cheney is considered to have been one of the most powerful vice presidents in US history, a Machiavellian figure who wielded considerable influence behind the scenes.
The statement added that Cheney “died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease,” describing him as “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.”
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man,” the family added.
Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941, Cheney grew up mostly in the sparsely populated western state of Wyoming.
He attended Yale University but dropped out of the prestigious East Coast school and ended up earning a degree in political science back home at the University of Wyoming.
A Republican stalwart, Cheney went into politics himself in 1978, winning Wyoming’s seat in the House of Representatives and holding on to it for the next decade.
Named defense secretary by president George H.W. Bush in 1989, Cheney presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, in which a US-led coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
As vice-president, Cheney was a key architect of the “war on terror” following the September 11 attacks and one of the earliest advocates of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In later years, Cheney became one of the most vocal Republican critics of President Donald Trump. Two months before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, he announced his support for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.