Richard “Dick” Cheney, former vice president of the United States, has died at the age of 84 from complications related to pneumonia and long-standing cardiovascular disease. For decades he confronted serious heart issues, enduring multiple heart attacks, advanced therapies including a ventricular assist device, and ultimately a heart transplant in 2012.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in Casper, Wyoming, Cheney was known early for academic discipline and competitive spirit. He attended Yale University and later completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in political science at the University of Wyoming, a path that foreshadowed his lifelong immersion in government and public policy.

Cheney’s public career spanned more than forty years and several branches of power. He served as White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford (1975–1977), then represented Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives (1979–1989), where he rose rapidly in leadership. In 1989 he joined President George H. W. Bush’s cabinet as secretary of defense, overseeing critical decisions at the end of the Cold War, the U.S. intervention in Panama, and the Persian Gulf War. Between periods of public service, he led Halliburton Company (1995–2000), gaining executive experience that shaped his views on energy and national infrastructure.

As vice president to President George W. Bush (2001–2009), Cheney became one of the most influential second-in-command figures in modern American history. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, he pressed for a muscular national-security posture, supporting the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, expanded executive authority in wartime, surveillance initiatives, and controversial detention and interrogation policies. Admirers regarded him as a steady hand in a perilous era; critics argued he helped widen America’s footprint and the presidency’s reach in ways that would echo for years.

Cheney’s public life also included moments of intense scrutiny beyond geopolitics—from the 2006 hunting accident that drew widespread attention to his late-career disagreements inside his own party. In later years he remained an unflinching voice on constitutional powers and national defense, while expressing positions that sometimes diverged from the dominant currents in Republican politics. Through books, interviews, and appearances alongside his family, he continued to defend the decisions he believed were necessary to protect the United States.

He is survived by his wife, Lynne, and their daughters, Liz and Mary, who were at the center of his private world even as his public responsibilities expanded. His passing closes a consequential chapter in American governance and invites a sober re-examination of his legacy—leadership and resolve for some; overreach and costly entanglements for others. In either reading, Dick Cheney’s presence shaped the nation’s course at decisive moments, leaving a record that will be studied, debated, and remembered for generations.