Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney used the vice presidency from 2001 to 2009 to expand executive security power, war planning, and conservative statecraft in the early decades of Modern America.
Born January 30, 1941 / Died November 3, 2025
On January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dick Cheney was born into a family that later settled in Wyoming and encouraged practical ambition rather than elite pedigree. He studied at the University of Wyoming, entered politics through congressional staff work, and rose quickly under Donald Rumsfeld in the Nixon and Ford administrations. Those years taught him the mechanics of bureaucratic power and executive loyalty.
Cheney served as White House chief of staff, secretary of defense during the Gulf War, and then vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, he became a central architect of expanded surveillance, detention policy, and the Iraq War. His office pushed aggressive theories of presidential authority that shaped legal memos, intelligence practice, and the broader war on terror.
Cheney's influence remained visible in debates over executive power, torture, surveillance, and the reach of national security law in Modern America. Later struggles over the Patriot Act, interrogation policy, and presidential emergency authority all unfolded in the shadow of his vice presidency.
Key Contributions
- Richard Bruce Cheney was an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Cheney became a central architect of post-September 11 executive power, the Afghanistan war, and the invasion of Iraq.
- Dick Cheney's public record is closely tied to United States invades Iraq, a named event that defined the period in which Dick Cheney served.
- As president, Dick Cheney connected executive power to United States invades Iraq and to the policy debates that followed.
Related Events
United States invades Iraq
On March 19-20, 2003, George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq, sending U.S. and coalition forces from Kuwait toward Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussein.
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