Dick Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died early Tuesday. He was 84.
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In a statement, the Cheney family revealed the politician had died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” the statement read. “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.”
The family also stated, “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.”
Cheney served as Vice President alongside President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. He was long considered the “chief architect” of the “war on terror” following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Before becoming the vice president, Cheney served as the 17th United States Secretary of Defense from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush. Prior to that, he was a U.S. Representative from Wyoming’s at-large district.
Cheney was also the 7th Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977.
Dick Cheney is survived by his wife Lynne, his two daughters, Mary and Liz, and his grandchildren.
Dick Cheney Once Said He Had No Regrets About the Decisions He Made During His Time as Vice President
In late 2008, Dick Cheney reflected on his time in the Bush Administration, noting he had no regrets about the decisions he made.
“I think, given the circumstances we’ve had to deal with, we’ve done pretty well,” he stated.
Although there were no weapons of mass destruction discovered in Iraq, like the Bush Administration thought they would be, Cheney still believed that Saddam Hussein had the capacity to create and use them.
“He had the technology, he had the people,” he also pointed out. “This was a bad actor, and the country’s better off, the world’s better off with Saddam gone. We made the right decision.”