Former U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney, who went from the plains of Casper, Wyoming to a decades-long public career as a Republican congressman, Defense secretary, White House chief of staff and one of the most powerful American vice presidents ever, has died at age 84, his family announced Tuesday.
“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,” his family said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “The former Vice President died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
“For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States,” the statement continued.
“Dick Cheney was 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,” his family said. “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.”
Cheney had a long history of cardiac problems, including five heart attacks. He received a heart transplant on March 24, 2012, at a Virginia hospital after nearly 21 months on a waiting list.
Cheney, who served as vice president for two terms under President George W. Bush, was one of the most powerful and controversial men ever to hold that position. He was a driving force behind America’s “war on terror,” including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also known for his penchant for secrecy. A hero to hawkish conservatives, he was a villain to liberals and Democrats. Hillary Clinton once compared him to Darth Vader.
Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Vice President Dick Cheney makes remarks to 4,000 Army soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division returning from duty in Iraq during a “Welcome Home Rally,” Oct. 16, 2006, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he never expressed doubt about his support for indefinite detention for alleged terrorist prisoners or even about waterboarding.
“I feel very good about what we did,” he told Fox News in 2008. “If I was faced with those circumstances again, I’d do exactly the same thing.”
In May 2011, after the death of Usama bin Laden, Cheney called it a “very good day” for the U.S. but warned the country was “still at war” with terrorists and should not “let down our vigilance.”
After the election of Democratic President Barack Obama in 2008, Cheney, still a face of his party, became one of the new president’s most prominent critics, attacking his foreign policy and accusing him of being soft on terrorism.
In addition to his decades-long political career, Cheney also worked in the oil industry as chairman and chief executive officer of the Halliburton Company, from 1995 until he returned to politics in 2000.
A son of the American West, Richard Bruce Cheney was born January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and grew up in Casper, Wyoming, where he was captain of his high school football team and his future wife was a cheerleader. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Wyoming.
In 1968, he moved to Washington as a congressional fellow and in 1969 became a staff assistant in the Richard Nixon administration. From 1975 to 1977, he served as chief of staff for Gerald Ford, Nixon’s successor.
In 1978, he was elected to the House of Representatives from Wyoming and served six two-year terms, rising to become minority whip. Cheney was popular in Congress, noted for his integrity and civility.
He next became secretary of Defense under President George H. W. Bush, with the Senate confirming him unanimously, and served in this role from 1989 to 1993.
After Bush failed to win re-election, Cheney went to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, and then to Halliburton.
He was elected vice president in 2000 and 2004 on the ticket with George W. Bush and flourished as one of Bush’s inner circle of advisers on defense and foreign policy.
In a statement Tuesday, Bush said that Cheney’s death was “a loss to the nation” and said that Cheney was “the one I needed” when he became his running mate in 2000.
“Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was,” Bush said in a statement obtained by Fox News. Cheney’s death was announced Tuesday morning.
“History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence and seriousness of purpose to every position he held,” Bush’s statement reads, in part.
Cheney also actively promoted expanding the powers of the presidency. In August 2011, he released a memoir, “In My Time.”
He is survived by Lynne Vincent, two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and seven grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said that Cheney “dedicated his life to serving our nation.”
“He was known for his love of his family and his country,” Scott said in a post on X. “Ann and I are praying for the Cheney family and all who knew him during this time.”
Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
