Dick Cheney, 63, has been a Washington insider since the 1970s and the central force behind President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in March 2003. A former congressman from Wyoming born on 30 January 1941, he was asked in 2000 to lead Bush's vice presidential search and ultimately nominated himself for the post.
The leading advocate for the Iraq War, Cheney has shown no sign of regret over the failure to locate weapons of mass destruction, the conflict's stated justification. Analysts regard him as the most powerful vice president in U.S. history, a role he has exercised closely alongside Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
He served as defense secretary under the first President Bush during the 1991 Gulf War but never saw combat himself. He avoided Vietnam service, saying he had had "other priorities" at the time.
His tenure has generated sustained controversy. Halliburton, the oil services company he ran before taking office, was drawn into investigations over Iraq contracts. His refusal to name the participants in a 2001 energy policy review prompted a complaint before the Supreme Court. In June 2004 he directed a profanity at a Democratic senator on the Senate floor.
Bush has defended the choice on grounds of judgment and experience. Cheney's health remains precarious: he has suffered several heart attacks.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.