Former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, has died at the age of 84.
Sources learnt that his family, in a statement on Tuesday, disclosed that Cheney passed away late Monday.
Cheney’s death was attributed to complications from pneumonia, along with longstanding cardiac and vascular disease.
The family’s statement cited by US media added, “His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed.
“For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States.”
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941, Cheney grew up mainly in the sparsely populated western state of Wyoming.
He attended Yale University but dropped out of the prestigious East Coast school, eventually earning a degree in political science at the University of Wyoming.
A Republican stalwart, Cheney entered politics himself in 1978, winning Wyoming’s seat in the House of Representatives and holding it for the next decade.
Cheney was the 46th vice president, serving under Republican President George W. Bush for two terms between 2001 and 2009.
With his reputation as a war hawk, Cheney helped lead the push under Bush to invade Iraq based on intelligence later proven wrong that Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction.
Cheney is considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history, a Machiavellian figure who wielded considerable influence behind the scenes.
Named defense secretary by president George H.W. Bush in 1989, Cheney presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, in which a US-led coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
As vice president, Cheney brought his neo-conservative ideology to the White House and played a greater role in making major policy decisions than most of his predecessors in the role.
Cheney is widely seen as one of the driving forces behind the decision to invade Iraq following the September 11, 2001, attacks by Al-Qaeda on New York and Washington.
