Baghdad: Former US Vice President, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense, and former Congressman Dick Cheney died Tuesday at the age of 84, his family announced. Cheney, who left Yale University without completing his studies and avoided military service in the Vietnam War, was one of the most prominent Republican figures to leave a lasting mark on American politics.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Cheney served in high-ranking positions in four successive presidential administrations. He began as an aide in the White House during the presidency of Richard Nixon, then became the youngest person to hold the position of White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford. He later served as a member of Congress during the Reagan administration, before becoming Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush, and finally serving as Vice President under George W. Bush.

His political influence continues to resonate across generations. His daughter, Liz Cheney, represents Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a prominent figure in the Republican leadership.

When George W. Bush selected him as his running mate in the 2000 election, Cheney had survived three heart attacks. Despite his health problems, he became one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history, widely regarded as the most influential figure in the Bush administration. He even accidentally shot his hunting partner during a trip.

Cheney served as Secretary of Defense during the first Gulf War in 1990-1991.

He was one of the key architects of the 2003 Iraq War, part of a group known at the time as the neoconservative hawks in the Bush administration. He played a pivotal role in pushing for the invasion of Iraq after the September 11, 2001 attacks, promoting the narrative that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to al-Qaeda.