Richard Bruce “Dick” Cheney was born on January 30, 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a soil-conservation agent and his mother was a former softball star — a modest Midwestern beginning. Soon the family moved to Casper, Wyoming, where young Dick grew up, attending Natrona County High School.
He entered Yale University but struggled to adjust and later transferred to the University of Wyoming, earning a B.A. in 1965 and a M.A. in 1966 in political science. From his earliest days, Cheney’s ambition and toughness were evident. After his graduate work he took a congressional fellowship in 1968–69 and entered government service during the Richard Nixon administration.
By 1974 he was deputy assistant to President Gerald Ford and in November 1975 became White House Chief of Staff — a remarkable ascent for someone still in his mid-30s. In 1978, Cheney made the leap into elective politics: he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives as Wyoming’s at-large Congressman, taking office in 1979 and ultimately serving until 1989.
In the House he built a reputation as a staunch conservative, opposing environmental regulations, gun control, and taking a hawkish posture on defence. In March 1989, President George H.W. Bush tapped Cheney to become Secretary of Defense. The Senate confirmed him 92-0 — a strong bipartisan acknowledgment of his credentials.
At the Pentagon he oversaw operations such as the invasion of Panama and particularly the landmark Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) in 1991, which drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. Then Cheney made a surprising transition — into the private sector. From 1995 to 2000 he served as chairman and CEO of Halliburton, a large oil-services company. But his time in the private sector was just a pause, not an endpoint.
In July 2000, after a long career in government and business, Cheney was selected as running mate to Governor George W. Bush. He thus became Vice President when Bush won the election and took office on January 20, 2001. Then came the defining moment: on September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by terrorists, and the world changed. Cheney, as Vice President, moved to undisclosed locations for security and played a central role in the administration’s response.
He became widely regarded as the most powerful Vice President in American history — transforming a role often considered ceremonial into one of real influence and operational heft. Perhaps the most consequential decision of his vice presidency came in 2003: the decision to invade Iraq. Cheney argued that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to Al-Qaeda, a claim that later proved incorrect.
That war, and the broader “War on Terror,” would dominate his legacy. He also pushed for expansion of executive power: surveillance, detention, interrogation techniques — all deeply controversial. Yet behind the public persona, Cheney battled personal challenges. He suffered several heart attacks and, later, underwent a heart transplant in 2012. He had the kind of resilience that mirrored his political toughness.
In January 2009 Cheney’s vice presidency ended. He left office with very low approval ratings — his legacy was divisive. Afterwards he remained a public figure, publishing a memoir in 2011 titled In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, reflecting on his years in power.
What makes Cheney’s story astonishing is the arc: from a boy in Wyoming, through mid-level staffer, through Congress, to the Pentagon, to one of the most powerful offices in the land — shaping wars, national security, and the presidency itself. He left a mark on America that will be debated for generations.
As the years passed, the power he wielded became a cautionary tale of how ambivalent the exercise of power can be: promising security, provoking war, expanding executive reach, and sparking controversy. Through it all, Cheney remained fiercely committed to his view of American strength and presidency.
In his later years, he supported his daughter Liz Cheney, herself a congresswoman, and engaged in public debates about the future of the country. Though his name will forever be linked to war and national security, he also embodied the paradox of American public service: the same man whose decisions have been condemned by many also believed deeply that he was protecting the nation.
Dick Cheney died on November 3, 2025.
His life was an extraordinary journey of ambition, power, policy, and consequence—a story of how one man rose from modest beginnings to shape the global stage.