Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (English: Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney; born January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, died November 4, 2025, in Wilson, Wyoming) was an American politician, the 46th Vice President of the United States (2001–2009) in George W. Bush's administration. In this role, he succeeded Al Gore.

Cheney grew up in Casper, Wyoming, and earned a bachelor's and master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming. He received five deferments from military service during the Vietnam War. He began his career as a White House intern in the Nixon administration and later became the chief advisor to Vice President Gerald Ford (1975–1977).

From 1979 to 1989, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, where he rose to the position of deputy minority leader.

Prior to that, he had served as Secretary of Defense and White House Chief of Staff. The White House "gray eminence" is considered the most influential vice president in U.S. history. He was one of the ideologues of aggressive U.S. foreign policy, working in both Bush administrations and holding the position of Secretary of Defense. Cheney is one of the architects of "Desert Storm," the "Arab Spring," the Eastern European "orange revolutions," and other U.S. expansions around the world.

He played a leading role in shaping national security and foreign policy, including after the September 11 attacks, in the Global War on Terror, and in supporting the Iraq War, based on claims of weapons of mass destruction and links to "Al Qaeda" (which later proved unfounded).

As Bush's vice president, Cheney was extraordinarily influential, often exceeding the traditional powers of the vice presidency—he chaired the Energy Task Force, supported the Patriot Act, and expanded presidential powers. He defended NSA electronic surveillance and "enhanced interrogation techniques"—torture—in the case of Guantanamo detainees.

At the end of the Iraq seizure war, Cheney could bid farewell to politics, plunge into the country's "reconstruction efforts" and the exploitation of seized oil fields in Iraq. He was generously rewarded by being appointed chairman of the board of directors of the international Houston oil cartel company Halliburton, under which was a chain of other influential companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Union Pacific, and Electronic Data Systems.

During this time, corruption charges were brought against him in the U.S. for increasing management expenses, and even criminal proceedings began, conducting his group of companies' deals through France, thereby illegally circumventing certain sanctions; however, considering that various high-level officials from different countries—politicians, statesmen, and influential figures—were involved in this matter, everything quietly faded away. Of course, as one of the so-called echo events of the "Arab Spring" many years later (2025), there was the conviction and imprisonment of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy for receiving illegal funding from the informal leader of Arab countries, Muammar Gaddafi.

Cheney also had interests in Russia, whose natural resources were plundered with particular fervor in the 1990s (even briefly creating a new social phenomenon of "new Russians"). Cheney met with the then-owner and CEO of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to start an oil extraction and trade business in Russia as well, managing to open a large office in Moscow and branches in many oil extraction sites in Russia.

In any case, Cheney was not particularly loved or respected even in the corridors of U.S. power due to the way he handled matters and implemented his plans, but because of his enormous influence, no one openly engaged in conflicts.

The main controversies included:

Iraq War: Accusations of the insane use of intelligence services to justify the war.

Valerie Plame affair: His chief advisor, Scooter Libby, was convicted of lying in connection with the leaking of a CIA agent's identity.

Shooting incident: In 2006, he accidentally shot a hunting companion.

His approval ratings after 9/11 reached 68%, but in the end dropped to 13%.

After his tenure, he published memoirs ("In My Time," 2011; "Exceptional," 2015) and criticized Republican leaders, including Donald Trump, supporting Kamala Harris in 2024.

Cheney was a very passionate smoker, smoking up to 3 packs of cigarettes a day, while at the same time—his health issues with lungs and cardiovascular system were known.

Dick Cheney died on November 4, 2025, at the age of 84, from complications related to pneumonia and vascular diseases.

He was survived by his wife Lynne, whom he had known since the age of 14. They had two daughters—Elizabeth, who works with her mother, and Mary, who is often discussed as a lesbian.