Dick Cheney, the Republican who was vice president to George W. Bush played a leading role in deciding how the United States would respond to the 9/11 attacks and to the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died on Monday at age 84.He reportedly died from complications of pneumonia and long-standing cardiac and vascular disease, surrounded by his wife Lynne and daughters Liz and Mary. The family had released a statement, which read:“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed. 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.”It continued:“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”Early Life and Rise in Washington of Dick CheneyRichard Bruce Cheney was born on January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and moved to Wyoming with his family when he was a little boy. It was here that he met his lifelong partner, Lynne. Cheney, who got accepted into Yale with a scholarship, initially struggled and was soon kicked out. He only returned to university after being given an ultimatum by Lynne. He told The New Yorker: “She made it clear she wasn’t interested in marrying a lineman for the county. I buckled down and applied myself. Decided it was time to make something of myself.”After several years of working on power lines out west, he went on to graduate from the University of Wyoming with both a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science. By 1964, he had married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Vincent.President Gerald R. (Jerry) Ford meets with Chief of Staff in the President's Private Study. - Source: GettyCheney began his career in national politics as a congressional intern during the Nixon administration. By 1975, he had been appointed White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford, where he gained the reputation as disciplined, organized, and knowledgeable about federal bureaucracy. During six terms before his rise to the position of House minority whip, his voting record was solidly conservative.Defense Secretary and Corporate Career Dick Cheney was appointed Secretary of Defense by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. He led the successful expulsion of Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait by overseeing Operation Desert Storm. Following his departure from government service, he moved into the corporate sector and soon became the CEO at Halliburton, a major oil services corporation. Vice President (2001-2009)USA - Politics - President Bush and Vice President Cheney at the NSA - Source: GettyWhen Bush decided to run for President in the 2000 election, Dick Cheney was tasked with selecting a candidate who would run for the role of Vice President. Cheney ended up joining the ticket and soon became the 46th Vice President of the United States.Bush Presidency Stock - Source: GettyAfter the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, during his first year in office, Cheney's role expanded. During the Bush administration's war on terror and the Iraq War, he went on to work closely with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and they developed an incredible alliance.Dick Cheney was one of the most vocal advocates for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. He implied that Iraq had maintained connections with al-Qaeda and warned that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Though both claims were eventually discredited, Cheney still continues to defend the decision. He claimed that they were acting on “the best available intelligence” at the time.The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the approval of "enhanced interrogation" techniques, brought a lot of attention, both domestically and internationally. Though Cheney maintained that such actions were required to safeguard national security objectives. During his latter years in administration, his approval ratings sharply declined (31%), which was indicative of a general dissatisfaction with the lengthy disputes. After leaving office in 2009, Cheney wrote memoirs on his political career and ongoing health issues. In 2012, he got a heart transplant, which he called "the gift of life."Dick Cheney openly criticized Donald Trump towards the end of his first run, claiming that he posed "a greater threat to the republic than any individual in our nation's history." He even declared that he will support Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, citing the need to "put country above partisanship."Dick Cheney leaves behind his wife, Lynne, children, Liz and Mary and seven grandchildren.Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.