Cheney died Monday due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said Tuesday in a statement

xWashington: Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarising vice presidents in US history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at age 84.

Cheney died Monday due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said Tuesday in a statement.

The quietly forceful Cheney served father and son presidents, leading the armed forces as defence chief during the Persian Gulf War under President George W Bush before returning to public life as vice president under Bush's son George W Bush.

Cheney was, in effect, the chief operating officer of the younger Bush's presidency. He had

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