Vice President Richard B. Cheney

Richard B. Cheney is vice president under George W. Bush.

Cheney left his CEO position at Halliburton, a Dallas-based energy services firm, to become vice president but he is no stranger to government service.  Cheney was Defense Secretary under Bush's father George H.W. Bush, where he presided over the Persian Gulf War.  He was also chief of staff to President Gerald Ford, and represented Wyoming in the House of Representatives from 1978-1988.

After graduating college, Cheney interned for Gov. Warren Knowles of Wisconsin. He followed the internship with a fellowship on the staff of Rep. William Steiger, R-WI, in 1968. In 1969, Cheney worked for Donald Rumsfeld, President Nixon's Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity.  Rumsfeld is now Defense Secretary.

Cheney earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Wyoming in 1965 and 1966, respectively.

Cheney was born in 1941 in Lincoln, Neb.  He is married to Lynne Cheney, who also has served government as chairwoman of the National Endowment of the Humanities.  They have two daughters.