Former Vice President Cheney, architect of Iraq War, dies at 84

• Born in Nebraska and raised in Wyoming, Richard B. Cheney rose from Capitol Hill intern to the pinnacle of U.S. power.
• He spent nearly 40 years shaping Republican and U.S. foreign policy, including stints as White House chief of staff, Wyoming congressman and defense secretary.

What they're saying: "Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing," his family said in a statement. "We are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man."

• Bush, in a statement emailed to Axios, said, "Dick was 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."

Cheney wielded extraordinary influence during the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11, the culmination of a career as a behind-the-scenes power broker.

• "His hand was often unseen even by colleagues," wrote Barton Gellman, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Cheney.

Early career and rise to the White House

At just 34, he became the youngest ever White House chief of staff, under President Gerald Ford.

• Cheney then served six terms as Wyoming's lone congressman, rising to House GOP leadership before joining President George H.W. Bush's Cabinet as defense secretary in 1989.
• At the Pentagon, Cheney oversaw the U.S. invasions of Panama and Kuwait.
• The 1991 Gulf War drove Iraq's forces out of Kuwait but stopped short of removing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power, a decision Cheney defended as restraint.

Flashback: Before joining President Bush's ticket in 2000, Cheney led Halliburton, an oilfield services giant that later won major U.S. contracts during the Iraq War, a connection that fueled years of controversy and ethics debates.

• He initially led Bush's vice-presidential search committee before emerging as Bush's preferred choice for the role.

"War on terror" era

As VP, Cheney was a chief architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion, a step that had broad bipartisan and public backing at the time.

• However, the so-called War on Terror he championed lost public support over time as it became clear the pretense the Bush administration used, and Cheney pushed, to invade Iraq was false.

• A methodical political operative who prized executive authority, Cheney exerted sweeping influence on U.S. security, intelligence and energy policy after 9/11.
• Cheney's behind-the-scenes maneuvering led critics to liken him to Darth Vader, a nickname he wryly embraced, once joking that it was "one of the nicer things I've been called."

Friction point: The outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame became a defining scandal of Cheney's tenure.

• It led to the 2007 conviction of his chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for perjury and obstruction and deepened criticism of the administration's handling of intelligence.

Zoom out: Cheney, who survived five heart attacks, suffered cardiac problems for decades.

• He received a pacemaker in 2001, a mechanical pump in 2010 and a heart transplant in 2012.

Post-White House years and Trump criticism

Even in retirement, Cheney defended the Bush administration's use of what it called "enhanced interrogation" techniques and insisted the Iraq War was justified.

• In his final years, Cheney turned his ire toward President Trump, calling him "a coward" and the greatest "threat to our republic," while supporting his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney's efforts to hold Trump accountable for the Jan. 6 riots in the Capitol.
• That late-life break with his party — capped by his endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024 — underscored how far the GOP had shifted from the hawkish conservatism he represented.

Editor's note: This story was updated with more details and context throughout.