Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney (/ˈtʃeɪni/ CHAY-nee;[a] born January 30, 1941) is an American retired politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. Often cited as the most powerful vice president in American history,[4][5] Cheney previously served as White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, and as the 17th United States secretary of defense in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. He is both the oldest living former U.S. vice president and earliest serving living former U.S. secretary of defense, following the deaths of Walter Mondale and Donald Rumsfeld in 2021 respectively.
"Richard Cheney" redirects here. For other uses, see Richard Cheney (disambiguation).
Dick Cheney
Robert H. Michel
Hamilton Jordan (1979)
Gerald Ford
Position established
Landon Butler
- Yale University (no degree)
- University of Wyoming (BA, MA)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (no degree)
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney grew up there and in Casper, Wyoming.[6] He attended Yale University before earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science from the University of Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as White House chief of staff from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and represented Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 1979 to 1989, briefly serving as House minority whip in 1989. He was appointed Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, and held the position for most of Bush's term from 1989 to 1993.[7] As secretary he oversaw 1991's Operation Desert Storm. While out of office during the Clinton administration, he was the chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.
In July 2000, Cheney was chosen by presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election. They defeated their Democratic opponents, incumbent vice president Al Gore and senator Joe Lieberman. In 2004, Cheney was reelected to his second term as vice president with Bush as president, defeating their Democratic opponents Senators John Kerry and John Edwards. During Cheney's tenure as vice president, he played a leading behind-the-scenes role in the George W. Bush administration's response to the September 11 attacks and coordination of the Global War on Terrorism. He was an early proponent of invading Iraq, alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction program and had an operational relationship with Al-Qaeda; however, neither allegation was ever substantiated. He also pressured the intelligence community to provide intelligence consistent with the administration's rationales for invading Iraq. Cheney was often criticized for the Bush administration's policies regarding the campaign against terrorism, for his support of wiretapping by the National Security Agency (NSA) and for his endorsement of "enhanced interrogation techniques" which several critics have labeled as torture.[8][9][10] He publicly disagreed with President Bush's position against same-sex marriage in 2004,[11] but also said it is "appropriately a matter for the states to decide".[12]
Cheney ended his vice presidential tenure as an unpopular figure in American politics with an approval rating of 13 percent.[13] His peak approval rating in the wake of the September 11 attacks was 68 percent.[14]
Early life and education
Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine (née Dickey) and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English, as well as Welsh, Irish, and French Huguenot ancestry. His father was a soil conservation agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a softball star in the 1930s;[15] Cheney was one of three children.
He attended Calvert Elementary School[16][17] before his family moved to Casper, Wyoming,[18] where he attended Natrona County High School.
He attended Yale University, but by his own account had problems adjusting to the college, and dropped out.[19][20] Among the influential teachers from his days in New Haven was H. Bradford Westerfield, whom Cheney repeatedly credited with having helped to shape his approach to foreign policy.[21] He later attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in political science. He subsequently started, but did not finish, doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[22]
In November 1962, at the age of 21, Cheney was convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI). He was arrested for DWI again the following year.[23] Cheney said that the arrests made him "think about where I was and where I was headed. I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course."[24]
In 1964, he married Lynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart, whom he had met at age 14.
When Cheney became eligible for the draft, during the Vietnam War, he applied for and received five draft deferments. In 1989, The Washington Post writer George C. Wilson interviewed Cheney as the next secretary of defense; when asked about his deferments, Cheney reportedly said, "I had other priorities in the '60s than military service."[25] Cheney testified during his confirmation hearings in 1989 that he received deferments to finish a college career that lasted six years rather than four, owing to sub-par academic performance and the need to work to pay for his education. Upon graduation, Cheney was eligible for the draft, but at the time, the Selective Service System was not inducting married men.[26] On October 26, 1965, the draft was expanded to include married men without children; Cheney's first daughter, Elizabeth, was born 9 months and two days later.[27][26] Cheney's fifth and final deferment granted him "3-A" status, a "hardship" deferment available to men with dependents. In January 1967, Cheney turned 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft.[27]
In 1966 Cheney dropped out of the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin to work as staff aide for Governor Warren Knowles.[28]
In 1968 Cheney was awarded an American Political Science Association congressional fellowship and moved to Washington.[28]
White House Chief of Staff
Cheney was Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford from December 1974 to November 1975.[31][32][33] When Rumsfeld was named Secretary of Defense, Cheney became White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Rumsfeld.[23] He later was campaign manager for Ford's 1976 presidential campaign.[34]
Private sector career
Between 1987 and 1989, during his last term in Congress, Cheney served on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations foreign policy organization.[68]
With the inauguration of the new Democratic administration under President Bill Clinton in January 1993, Cheney joined the American Enterprise Institute. He also served a second term as a Council on Foreign Relations director from 1993 to 1995.[68]
From October 1, 1995[69] to July 25, 2000,[70] he served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company. Cheney resigned as CEO on the same day he was announced as George Bush's vice-presidential pick in the 2000 election.[71]
Cheney's record as CEO was subject to some dispute among Wall Street analysts. A 1998 merger between Halliburton and Dresser Industries attracted the criticism of some Dresser executives for Halliburton's lack of accounting transparency.[72] Halliburton shareholders pursued a class-action lawsuit alleging that the corporation artificially inflated its stock price during this period, though Cheney was not named as an individual defendant in the suit. In June 2011, the United States Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and allowed the case to continue in litigation.[73] Cheney was named in a December 2010 corruption complaint filed by the Nigerian government against Halliburton, which the company settled for $250 million.[74]
During Cheney's term, Halliburton changed its accounting practices regarding revenue realization of disputed costs on major construction projects.[75] Cheney resigned as CEO of Halliburton on July 25, 2000. As vice president, he argued that this step, along with establishing a trust and other actions, removed any conflict of interest.[76] Cheney's net worth, estimated to be between $19 million and $86 million,[77] is largely derived from his post at Halliburton.[78]
His 2006 gross joint income with his wife was nearly $8.82 million.[79]
He was also a member of the board of advisors of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) before becoming vice president.[57]
Cheney's early public opinion polls were more favorable than unfavorable, reaching his peak approval rating in the wake of the September 11 attacks at 68 percent.[14] However, polling numbers for both him and the president gradually declined in their second terms,[14][185] with Cheney reaching his lowest point shortly before leaving office at 13 percent.[185][186] Cheney's Gallup poll figures are mostly consistent with those from other polls:[14][187]
In April 2007, Cheney was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service by Brigham Young University, where he delivered the commencement address.[188] His selection as commencement speaker was controversial. The college board of trustees issued a statement explaining that the invitation should be viewed "as one extended to someone holding the high office of vice president of the United States rather than to a partisan political figure".[189] BYU permitted a protest to occur so long as it did not "make personal attacks against Cheney, attack (the) BYU administration, the church or the First Presidency".[190]
Cheney has been cited as the most powerful vice president in American history.[4][5] He has been compared to Darth Vader, a characterization originated by his critics, but which was later adopted humorously by Cheney himself as well as by members of his family and staff.[191]
As a result of Cheney having admitted that he "signed off" on the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" program,[192][193] some public officials, as well as several media outlets and advocacy groups, have called for his prosecution under various anti-torture and war crimes statutes.[194][195]
In Jon Meacham's book Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, published in November 2015, the 41st president, although also laudatory of Cheney, is in part critical of the former vice president, whom Bush describes as "having his own empire" and "very hard-line."[196]
The federal building in Casper, Wyoming is named the Dick Cheney Federal Building.[197][198]