Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, a key architect of George W Bush's war on terror and an early advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, has died at the age of 84.
He died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease on Monday night, his family said.
Cheney served as Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the 1970s, before later becoming one of the most powerful US vice presidents in history under Bush.
In his later years, he became a bitter critic of the Republican party under the leadership of Donald Trump.
Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honour, love, kindness, and fly fishing, his family said in a statement.
Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941 and later attended Yale University on a scholarship but failed to graduate. He went on to gain a Master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming.
His first taste of Washington came in 1968, when he worked for William Steiger, a young Republican representative from Wisconsin.
Cheney became chief of staff under Ford at just 34, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives. As secretary of defence under George Bush Snr, he presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War.
Cheney became VP to George W Bush in 2001, playing a major role in decision-making during his administration. He was a leading advocate of military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, famously citing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction which were never found.
Despite decades of service to Republican leaders, Cheney later critiqued Trump, expressing his concerns about the direction of the party and implying Trump was a threat to American democracy.
In his final years, Cheney became estranged from a party reshaped by Trump, as he supported his daughter Liz in her opposition to the former president.
Cheney's death marks the end of a significant chapter in US political history, reflecting on a complex legacy filled with both achievement and controversy.
