Dick Cheney

by Eric

Richard Bruce “Dick” Cheney was born on January 30, 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska and raised in Casper, Wyoming. He was a handsome and popular boy, whose future would be bright. He attended Yale University, Casper College and University of Wyoming, earning a Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Wyoming. In 1964, he married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Ann Vincent, who later became an author and public speaker.

Cheney's political career began in 1969, as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, during the Nixon Administration. He worked his way into the White House during the Ford Administration where he served as the White House Chief of Staff. In 1978, Cheney was elected as a Republican member to the House of Representatives representing Wyoming. He was reelected five times, eventually becoming House Minority Whip. In 1989, Cheney was nominated to be the Secretary of Defense by the President George H.W. Bush and later was confirmed by Congress. He oversaw both the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991 for which he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.
Out of public during the Clinton Administration, one of his major private sector accomplishments occurred in 1995, when Cheney became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Dallas-based Halliburton Company. He was responsible for taking a struggling business and making it the largest supplier of energy-related services in the world.

In 2000, Cheney was chosen by George W. Bush to be his running mate in the 2000 Presidential Campaign. After their successful bid for the White House, Cheney became the 46th Vice President of the United States. September 11th, 2001 marked a distinct change in U.S. history. Vice President Cheney remained physically separated from President Bush for the majority of their first term in the White House, due to National Security concerns. Vice President Cheney fully supported the Invasion of Iraq and has made several trips to the country.

In 2004, President Bush and Vice President Cheney were re-elected to the White House after defeating Democratic Nominees’ John Kerry and John Edwards in another close election battle. 

Less prominent during his second term as Vice President, Cheney still managed to make headlines. In 2006 he was involved in a bizarre hunting incident where he accidentally shot his hunting partner. A year later in 2007, during a visit to Afghanistan, a suicide-bomber attacked the entrance of a military base that killed 14 people and wounded another dozen. The leader of this attack confirmed that the target was Vice President Cheney. Dick was okay and later met with the leader of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.  Vice President Cheney plans to retire to private life after his present term has ended.
     

Sources:
http://www.npr.org/news/national/election 2000/bios/cheney.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_cheney
www.whitehouse.com LINK!
thewashingtonpost.com