Born on July 30, 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dick Cheney grew up in Casper,Wyoming where he earned a degree in Political Sciences in 1966. Cheney is a member of the Methodist Church, a religious reform movement led by Charles and John Wesley in an attempt to revive the Church of England in Oxford in 1729.
Dick Cheney began his political career in the late 1960's in the Nixon Administration. At the age of 34, he became the first White House Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford where he remained until 1977. From 1978 to 1989, he served in Congress as a Republican representative for Wyoming where he developed a track record of adopting conservative stands.
During the Bush Administration, Dick Cheney was Secretary of Defense from 1989 to 1993 after which he left politics to begin a career in economics and business.
Cheney's Family and Social
Life. Dick Cheney is married and has two daughters. His wife, Lynne, is considered a prominent academic figure in America. She has a Ph.D. in English literature, is a professor with the American Institute of Commerce, writes and lectures on educational affairs. She also served two terms as chairperson of National Scholarships on Human Sciences in addition to being the chief editor of the Washingtonian magazine.
Between 1994 and 2000, Dick and Lynne Cheney jointly contributed over $30,000 to candidates for federal offices.
Cheney has health concerns as he has had three cardiac attacks, the most recent of which was in 1988 at the age of 47.
Cheney As Defense
Secretary . Cheney's term of office as Secretary of Defense during the Bush administration was one of the most significant periods of his life, and deserves attention. Among his most important achievements were his role in planning the invasion of Panama in December 1989 to remove General Manuel Noriega's regime, and Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. Following the end of the Cold War, the world order experienced a drastic change. This was a critical period for the U.S. In recognition of his work to preserve American defense assets, President Bush awarded Cheney with the Presidential Medal in June 1991.
Cheney The Oil Tycoon.
After serving as Secretary of Defense, Cheney entered the business world.
In 1995, he became president of Halliburton, one of America's largest
power and construction corporations when the company was in its worst condition. It had sustained financial losses for two years in a row forcing it to lay off a large number of employees. However, with Cheney at the helm, Halliburton's performance improved considerably. In 1999, the company enjoyed profits of $2. When oil prices reached a peak that year, the company's stock rose steeply from less than $40 per share in March to over $50 in June. Cheney's personal gain was tremendous as well - he unloaded some 100,000 of his Halliburton shares at the time, making a profit of about $ 5.1 million. Analysts have remarked about Cheney's unique ability to organize a highly effective management team at Halliburton.
Dick Cheney has taken full advantage of the experience he gained while at the Pentagon, and of the worldwide network of contacts he has made - particularly those in the Gulf region - to the benefit of his company. Some believe that Cheney's involvement in the petroleum world is disfavorable given the current controversy over environmental and energy policies in the election campaigns.
