In pictures: Dick Cheney, architect of America’s war on terror, 1941 - 2025
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Dick Cheney, the former United States vice president who helped shape America’s response to the September 11 attacks and led the push for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has died aged 84.
His family said he died on November 3 from complications of pneumonia and heart disease, surrounded by his wife Lynne and daughters Liz and Mary.
A dominant figure in American politics for decades, Cheney served as vice president under George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, secretary of defence under George H. W. Bush, and White House chief of staff to Gerald Ford in the 1970s.
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Cheney was a key architect of the “war on terror” and one of Washington’s most influential hawks, advocating the invasion of Iraq on claims that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to al-Qaeda — claims later disproved.
Before re-entering government, Cheney led energy services giant Halliburton. In his later years, he broke with the Republican mainstream, endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and calling Donald Trump “a threat to the republic.”
His family described him as “a great and good man” who “served our nation for decades” and “lived a life of courage, honour, and love.”
Dick Cheney (l) and his mentor, Donald Rumsfeld (r), at the White House in 1975
Bush and Cheney have their weekly lunch in a small dining room at the White House in October 2001. Brooks Kraft/Sygma via Getty Images
Dick Cheney with his wife Lynne and his youngest daughter Mary
Soldiers briefing Dick Cheney, the new defense secretary, in 1989
Dick Cheney visits American troops in Saudi Arabia during the build up to the Gulf War in 1990
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Cheney sits next to President George W. Bush as he meets with his cabinet and advisers, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, on September 15, 2001, at Camp David in Maryland. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Cheney watches news coverage of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. US National Archives
Cheney watches F-18 attack planes headed for Afghanistan catapult from the USS John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea on March 15, 2002. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney in 2015. Both became leading critics of President Donald Trump
Cheney played a decisive role in George W Bush’s re-election
White House Chief of Staff Cheney chats with President Gerald Ford outside the White House as they walk to a helicopter in Washington, DC, on November 7, 1975. Bob Daugherty/AP
As a Congressman, Dick Cheney supported President Reagan’s increase in defence spending
Cheney walks with his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney through the Capitol on January 6, 2022, the one year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Cheney, alongside his wife and family, look at the bust of the former vice president after it was unveiled at Emancipation Hall inside the Capitol on December 3, 2015. Keith Lane/Getty Images
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Faith Omoboye is a foreign affairs correspondent with background in History and International relations. Her work focuses on African politics, diplomacy, and global governance.
