He was a hardliner, the mastermind of the Iraq invasion and extremely controversial: Dick Cheney seized power in the White House as Vice President and pulled the strings on important issues in the background. His tough positions, especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are almost legendary. Cheney was a political heavyweight – a deputy, more powerful than almost anyone else. Now he died on Monday at the age of 84, as US media unanimously reported, citing a statement from his family.
Dick Cheney was considered a Trump critic
In recent years things have become quieter around the conservatives. He had been suffering from health problems for a long time – his heart in particular kept bothering him. In 2012, Cheney received a new heart after several heart attacks. He mostly remained silent about his poor health – but until the end, the pragmatist occasionally intervened in current politics.
Shortly before the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, the Republican and other former defense secretaries spoke out in a letter in the Washington Post. Cheney and the other men warned against military intervention to undermine the peaceful transition of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. “Attempting to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes would lead us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” the former secretaries wrote – just a few days later, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.
Cheney was considered a critic of US President Trump. He announced before the election in November 2024 that he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris. He accused Trump of using lies and violence to try to stay in power after Joe Biden defeated him in the previous election.
A steep right wing career
Cheney’s political legacy is considered to be the period after the terrorist attacks of 2001. He played a decisive role in President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq – for many he was seen as a warmonger who convinced Bush to invade. He persistently insisted that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and defended internationally criticized practices in the fight against terror, such as torture-interrogation methods.
After the attacks, he relied on hardliner positions – they continue to shape the USA in the fight against terror to this day. “Much of what needs to be done here must be done quietly, without discussion, using sources and methods available to our intelligence community if we are to be successful,” Cheney said shortly after the attacks.
He is considered the main mastermind of illegal electronic surveillance of US citizens. He made it his goal to defend America – by all means. Cheney is one of the most prominent faces of this turning point.
Cheney hardly made any friends with his style. He always acted somewhat in secret – the political scientist by training was considered distant and cold. Critics considered him unscrupulous, while supporters considered him a master of manipulation. “Am I the evil genius in the corner that no one sees coming out of his hole?” he once asked in an interview with the LA Times. It’s actually a nice way to work, he added. Cheney was seen as someone who saw the enemy lurking everywhere – even more so after 9/11.
Cheney was born in Nebraska on January 30, 1941, and his family later moved to Wyoming. His father worked there in conservation for the government. In 1964 he married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Ann Vincent. After completing his studies, Cheney moved to the US capital Washington, where he enjoyed a steep career. He initially worked for a Republican representative from Wisconsin, but quickly found himself in the center of power – the White House. In 1975, under President Gerald Ford, Cheney was appointed the youngest chief of staff there.
Liz Cheney is carrying on her father’s legacy
Between 1979 and 1989, Cheney was a congressman and eventually became Secretary of Defense under Bush Sr. (1989-1993). Then Cheney moved into the private sector to head the oil services giant Halliburton in Texas. He stayed there until he became vice president under Bush Jr. in 2001 – certainly the most formative period of his career. Although Cheney remained the second man in the state until the end of Bush’s term in 2009 – it is said that the men became increasingly estranged from each other towards the end.
After his years in power, Cheney largely withdrew from public life – not least because of his health problems. His daughters have been making headlines in recent years. His youngest, Mary Cheney, married a woman. The conservative Cheney has publicly supported this bond – unlike Liz Cheney, the older daughter. The two different sisters had a public dispute over same-sex marriage.
Liz Cheney, who like her father was involved in politics in Washington, was long considered a staunchly conservative Republican. But she stood up to Donald Trump and was dropped by her own party. With her efforts to clarify the background to the Capitol attack against the resistance of the Republicans, the daughter of the former Vice President is fighting her own “fight against terror,” according to US media.
