Former Vice President Dick Cheney, an architect of the global war on terrorism and second Iraq war who served for decades in Congress and three Republican administrations, died Monday night of complications from pneumonia and cardio-vascular disease, his family said in a statement and reported by NBC.

He was 84.

Cheney served as vice president for eight years under President George W. Bush and as defense secretary under his father, President George H.W. Bush. Before that, he served in the U.S. House as a Republican from Wyoming and as White House chief of staff for President Gerald Ford.

Cheney, a forceful and polarizing figure in Washington, was a key figure in the defense and foreign policies of the two Bush administrations. A defense hawk, Cheney spearheaded two major U.S. military operations during Bush senior's tenure, including an invasion of Panama that toppled the country's leader, General Manuel Noriega, and the first Gulf War, in which a U.S.-led coalition of allied nations liberated Kuwait from Iraq after its leader Saddam Hussein's brief and widely condemned invasion of the country. Unlike the second war in Iraq, the 1991 conflict did not end in the removal of Hussein and a protracted occupation by U.S. and allied forces.

Former President George W. Bush referred to his former vice president in a statement Tuesday as "a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges. I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He held to his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people. For those two terms in office, and throughout his remarkable career, Dick Cheney’s service always reflected credit on the country he loved."

While Cheney was not as visibly active in politics after he left the White House in 2009, he became an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump in recent years.

Story Date: November 5, 2025