Former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, passed away at the age of 84.
A hard-charging conservative, who became one of the most powerful and polarising vice presidents in US history, he was also a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq.
Born in 1941, he served as the 46th vice president from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.
As vice president, Cheney fought vigorously for an expansion of the power of the presidency, having felt that it had been eroding since the Watergate scandal that drove his one-time boss Richard Nixon from office. He also expanded the clout of the vice president's office by putting together a national security team that often served as a power center of its own within the administration, reported Reuters.
He went to Washington in 1969 as a congressional intern and held various White House jobs during the administrations of Nixon and Gerald Ford.
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During the 10 years he served as Wyoming's only congressman, Cheney had a highly conservative record, consistently voting against abortion rights. He also voted against the release of imprisoned South African leader Nelson Mandela and against gun control and environmental and education funding measures, as per Reuters.
Cheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Anne Vincent, in 1964. He is survived by his wife, daughters Liz and Mary.
