The family of the former Vice President, who passed away surrounded by his wife and daughters, announced his death on Tuesday in a statement. In the note, the family described Richard B. Cheney as a "noble giant of a man" and a "good man" who taught his descendants to "love their country" and to live with "courage, honor, love, and kindness."
Cheney had a long public career. He served as White House Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford and as a congressman from Wyoming. Later, he served as Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, a position from which he led the U.S. military intervention in the Persian Gulf in 1991.
However, his most influential period was between 2001 and 2009 when he served as Vice President under George W. Bush. During this time, he was considered one of the main architects of the "war on terrorism" following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as a key figure in the war against Iraq. Before joining the Bush administration, Cheney chaired the energy company Halliburton.
Although always a representative of the Republican Party's "hawkish" politics, Cheney surprised in his later years by distancing himself from the direction taken by the Republican Party, especially with his criticisms of former President Donald Trump. Cheney went as far as to label Trump as "cowardly" and "the greatest threat the republic has ever known".
The family concluded the statement feeling "deeply grateful for everything Dick Cheney did for our country." The politician was born in 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska.