Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (January 30, 1941 - present) serves as the Vice President of the United States, first elected in 2000 along with President George W. Bush. Cheney was re-elected along with President Bush in 2004.
| Dick Cheney | |
|---|---|
| |
| 46th Vice-President of the United States | |
| Term of office January 20, 2001 - Present | |
| Political party | Republican |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Al Gore |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Born | January 30, 1941 Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Spouse | Lynne Cheney |
| Religion | Methodist |
Life and Family
Richard "Dick" Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska [1] to Marjorie Cheney and Richard H. Cheney, a soil conservation agent for the United States Department of Agriculture.[2] He attended what was then called College View Elementary School in Lincoln until his family moved to Casper, Wyoming. In Casper, Cheney attended Natrona County High School [3] where he was the captain of the football team, and senior class president.[4] He has both a BA and an MA in Political Science from the University of Wyoming [5]. He married his high school sweetheart[6] Lynne Vincent in 1964. They have two daughters; Elizabeth and Mary.
On May 23, 2007, Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne Cheney welcomed their sixth grandchild, Samuel David Cheney. Samuel is the son of Mary Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe.
Political Career
Richard Cheney assumed his first political post as an assistant to Wisconsin Governor Warren P. Knowles in the early 1960s. at the age of 28 when he became an intern near the beginning of the Richard Nixon administration. He quickly came to the attention of Donald Rumsfeld, then directing the Office of Economic Opportunity, and was promoted to a paid position in 1971. When Watergate forced Nixon's resignation in 1973, Cheney became vice president of an investment firm for a year, but Rumsfeld convinced Gerald Ford upon the latter's accession to the presidency that Cheney was indispensible, and he was recalled to public service. Eventually Cheney replaced Rumsfeld as Chief of Staff to Ford as Rumsfeld was promoted to Secretary of Defense.
Upon hearing that Cheney had been chosen by Bush as his running mate, Paula Jones who was notable in some of the early Clinton scandals sued to disqualify them from receiving the electoral votes of Texas. Her theory was that under the 12th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, no state may give its electoral vote to a Presidential ticket both of whose members are from that state. Republican lawyers argued that Cheney's ties to Wyoming were more significant than those to Texas, which had effectively been dissolved as soon as Lynne carried out Richard's instructions to sell their house there. This argument prevailed in Federal district court, and Jones did not appeal.
Health Issues:
In March 2007 Mr. Cheney had surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg, the result of extended periods of sitting while airborne.
Hunting accident
On February 11, 2006, Mr. Cheney shot his hunting partner, Harry Whittington, in the face after Whittington moved into his "blind spot". [7]