Vice President Richard B. Cheney
The man behind the president
(CNN) -- As President Bush neared his fateful decision on whether to invade Iraq, he leaned on his typically unseen but undeniably influential confidant -- Vice President Dick Cheney -- just as he had most every step of his presidency.
"The advice he gives the president, I hear constantly, is the single most important advice the president gets," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
A leading voice in daily security sessions, Cheney had long preached that ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was key to remaking the Middle East as a more stable, more peaceful and more prosperous region.
Months after tying U.S. antiterrorism efforts to the "survival of civilization," the vice president hailed the fall of Baghdad as an important milestone in the fight to break the alliance between terrorists and the states that support them.
Speaking in early April before an audience in New Orleans, Louisiana, Cheney chafed at criticism from some Arabs and said "containment does not work against a rogue state" like Saddam's Iraq.
Tough comments like these are commonly associated with Cheney, known for his studied and conservative stances. Yet more often than not, the Washington veteran makes the most noise -- and molds national policy -- behind the scenes.
"In this town, if you give good advice and if you are discreet about that advice, you are very valuable," Portman said. "And that is what Dick Cheney provides for the president."
Believer in U.S. force
Cheney's prized West Wing real estate, steps from the Oval Office, is empty most days, a reflection of security considerations since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Administration aides told CNN in March that Cheney and Bush have been in the same room off White House grounds only three times in 18 months.
But out of sight hardly means out of the loop.
This was especially evident after September 11, when Cheney directed the administration's initial response from the White House, then stayed away for weeks while devising strategy and conversing regularly with Bush, world leaders and members of Congress.
A student of history, a former corporate executive and a government insider, the vice president has advocated a forceful approach to U.S. diplomacy and defense -- a stance illustrated in Iraq and before that, Afghanistan.
"He believes that all the progress of the last century, or a good portion of it -- eradication of tyrants and communism and fascism and Hitlerism -- was a direct result of the strength of the United States of America and their willingness to use their strength for good," said Mary Matalin, former counselor to Cheney.
Fast-track political career
The son of an U.S. Department of Agriculture worker, Richard Cheney was born January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and moved to Casper, Wyoming, 13 years later.
After graduating from high school, Cheney went to Yale University on a full scholarship. But he struggled academically at the Ivy League school, heading home after one year to enroll at the University of Wyoming, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in political studies.
Cheney also returned home to his high school sweetheart, Lynne Vincent, marrying her on August 29, 1964. The couple would later have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Between 1963 and 1965, Cheney received four student deferments and got another one in 1966 for being married and an expectant father -- thus avoiding military service. Soon after that, at 26, he was no longer of draft age.
In 1968, Cheney gave up his doctoral studies and moved to Washington to serve as a congressional fellow for Republican Rep. William Steiger of Wisconsin.
A year later, he joined the Nixon administration, serving at the Cost of Living Council, at the Office of Economic Opportunity and within the White House.
When Gerald Ford became president, he tapped then Illinois Republican Rep. Donald Rumsfeld as his chief of staff -- who in turn hired Cheney as his deputy.
When Rumsfeld became defense secretary in 1975, Cheney succeeded his boss to become (at age 35) the youngest chief of staff in White House history.
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Vice President Cheney speaks to troops at Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar about U.S. initiatives in the war in Iraq on March 17, 2003.
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Four GOP administrations
After Ford's defeat in 1976, Cheney returned to Wyoming where he ran for and easily won the state's sole congressional seat in 1978.
At the start of his second term, he rose to chairman of the Republican Policy Committee by beating out a fellow Republican with more seniority.
Often portrayed as an affable, pragmatic moderate in Congress, Cheney's voting record was hard-core conservative. He quickly scaled the GOP power chain as one of President Ronald Reagan's most ardent supporters, becoming House minority whip in 1988.
Cheney strongly backed Reagan's military policies, including the controversial "Star Wars" missile defense program.
He also championed conservative views on environmental issues, voting to postpone sanctions slapped on some air polluters and against legislation requiring oil, chemical and other industries from making public records of emissions known to cause cancer, birth defects and other chronic diseases.
After six terms in Congress, Cheney returned to the White House when President George H. W. Bush named him defense secretary in 1989.
He headed the Pentagon during the first Persian Gulf War and early rounds of post-Cold War military cutbacks.
After Bill Clinton's victory in 1992, Cheney moved into private industry, serving as CEO of Halliburton, a Dallas, Texas, engineering and oil services firm, from 1995 to 2000.
He returned to the political fold in earnest after Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the son of his former boss, defeated Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election.
Ties to oil industry
Cheney brought such a wealth of experience and credentials to the vice presidency that some detractors implied that he was the real power behind the younger Bush's throne.
President Bush "clearly will be the leader of this organization and the operation," Cheney told CNN one month before the pair took office in January 2001. But in typical understatement, he added, "I'm not going to just go to funerals and fund-raisers."
Despite a wealth of heart-related health problems, Cheney has been the administration's point man for several controversial issues, including energy, global warming, terrorism and international policy.
Cheney defended Bush's energy policy against the ire of environmentalists who objected to proposals such as tapping the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for oil.
His ties to the oil industry in general and Halliburton in particular have also drawn sharp criticism. Congressional Democrats questioned whether Halliburton received special treatment in getting at least $600 million in contracts to rebuild Iraq.
Both the vice president's office and Halliburton deny any wrongdoing.
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