Washington: Former United States Vice President Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84 due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac disease. His family said in a statement that he passed away surrounded by his wife Lynne and daughters Liz and Mary.
Cheney, who served as vice president under President George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, was one of the most powerful and controversial figures in modern American politics. He shaped US foreign policy after the September 11 attacks and played a central role in launching the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He strongly supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003, citing claims of weapons of mass destruction that were later proven false. Cheney continued to defend the decision, saying it removed Saddam Hussein from power and served US interests at the time.
Before his vice presidency, Cheney served as Secretary of Defense under President George HW Bush during the 1991 Gulf War. He pushed for greater presidential authority and expanded the influence of the vice president’s office.
Cheney also defended the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” against terrorism suspects, practices later condemned by human rights bodies as torture.
In later years, he broke ranks with many Republicans. He openly criticized Donald Trump and supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, calling Trump “the greatest threat to the republic.”
Cheney’s long career spanned five decades, marked by both influence and controversy. He is remembered as an architect of America’s post-9/11 foreign policy and a symbol of its moral and political debates.
