Dick Cheney, a towering figure in American politics and former vice president to George W. Bush, has died. His family released a statement revealing key details surrounding his final moments.
In a somber moment that marks the end of a towering era in American politics, former US Vice President Richard B. “Dick” Cheney has died at the age of 84. The family released a heartfelt statement the day before his passing.
Surrounded by Love in His Final Moments
His family confirmed that the staunch conservative titan died on November 3, 2025, leaving behind a legacy as complex as it was commanding. The statement from the Cheney family paints a tender picture of his final hours.
“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” it read. The cause of death? “The former vice president died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
Stricken, Scarred, and Still Standing: The Vice President Who Refused to Fall
Over the years, Cheney has danced far too often with death. From battling a lifetime of heart attacks to surviving a brazen Taliban suicide bombing, and even accidentally shooting a man in the face, Cheney’s life has read like a political thriller with the body count to match.
In March 2012, at the age of 71, Cheney’s office revealed he had undergone heart transplant surgery. The dramatic operation took place at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. His staff disclosed that Cheney had been waiting—silently and patiently—on the transplant list for more than 20 months.
“Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor,” the office added, “they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift.” The politician’s heart has long been his greatest adversary.
The former vice president has suffered at least five heart attacks since 1978, the first at just 37 years old. In June 2010, just two years before his transplant, Cheney was rushed to George Washington University Hospital due to complications from coronary artery disease.
To keep him alive, doctors implanted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a machine that helped his failing heart continue pumping blood. Back in June 2001, irregular rhythms forced doctors to install a pacemaker—an ominous sign that Cheney’s health had been 
‘We Knew Cheney Would Be There:’ Taliban Bomber Strikes as the Vice President Sleeps
But illness wasn’t the only predator stalking the former vice president. In a terrifying brush with terror and bloodshed, Cheney found himself squarely in the crosshairs of a suicide bomber. The date was February 2007, and the place was Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where Cheney was making a surprise overnight visit.
The attacker struck at the main gate during the politician’s stay, killing as many as 23 people and injuring 20. The Taliban chillingly claimed responsibility, declaring Cheney was their target. He emerged unharmed—but others weren’t so lucky.
Despite the chaos, he carried on, later traveling to Kabul to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The Afghan government reported 23 fatalities, but the US military claimed only nine deaths. The confusion surrounding the final count was never fully clarified, a shadow hanging over the grim morning.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) later confirmed that among the dead were a US soldier, an American contractor, and a South Korean soldier.
Cheney explained he had remained at the base due to poor weather. “At 10 a.m. I heard a loud boom,” he recounted. Secret Service agents rushed him to a bomb shelter. “As the situation settled down… I went back to my room until it was time to leave.”
When pressed by reporters, he made it clear—canceling his trip was never an option. Outside the base, the carnage was undeniable. At least 12 bodies in black bags and wooden coffins were seen being moved into a nearby market, where mourning locals gathered.
Despite Major William Mitchell’s statement that the explosion did not pose a direct threat—adding, “He wasn’t near the site of the explosion”—the Taliban insisted otherwise. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi was chillingly specific, “We knew that Dick Cheney would be staying inside the base,” he told the press by phone.
“The attacker was trying to reach Cheney.” He identified the bomber as Mullah Abdul Rahim. The blast occurred near the first of at least three fortified checkpoints surrounding Bagram Air Base, which housed over 5,000 US troops and 4,000 coalition personnel and contractors.
Lieutenant Colonel James Bonner, Bagram’s operations commander, confirmed that the attacker never breached the base. “When he realized he would not be able to get onto the base, he attacked the local population,” Bonner said bluntly.
Cheney later mused that the assault was part of the Taliban’s broader agenda. “Striking at Bagram with a suicide bomber I suppose is one way to do that [sic],” he said.
A Life Devoted to Power and Patriotism
Few men have held as much sway behind the curtain of American power as Cheney. Serving as White House chief of staff, Wyoming congressman, secretary of defense, and vice president, Cheney shaped policy from the shadows and frontlines alike.
Described by his family as a great and good man who instilled values of courage, honor, love, kindness—and fly fishing, he was not just a political force, but a pillar of strength within his home.
His most controversial chapters came during his tenure, including the time he served as the architect of the Gulf War as George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of defence. Ten years later, he was George W. Bush’s vice president.
Under George Jr., he served as the vice president, where he was a key architect of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. That decision, praised and reviled in equal measure, would define global geopolitics for a generation.
Yet despite the storm clouds of history, his family remains resolute, saying they are deeply grateful for all he did for the country and feel blessed to have loved — and been loved by — the noble giant of a man.