Dick Cheney, US vice-president who pushed for invasion of Iraq, dies aged 84

Dick Cheney, the divisive US vice-president under George W Bush who helped lead the country into a disastrous invasion of Iraq, died aged 84 on Monday, his family said.

- Martin Pengelly Chris Michael George Chidi

Cheney at various times held the roles of member of Congress, White House chief of staff and secretary of defence, but it was as one of the country's most powerful vice-presidents that he had the biggest impact, wielding great influence over the less experienced Bush.

Cheney was in office on 11 September 2001 during the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. While Bush was hurried to safety, Cheney worked with the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, to assume policy control. Troops were soon in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban and hunting al-Qaida.

But Cheney's place in history will be dominated by the decision to invade Iraq. He had been defence secretary during the first Gulf war against Saddam Hussein in 1990 and 1991, but Cheney and Bush's public rationale for war was that the Iraqi dictator was linked to al-Qaida and thus 9/11 and possessed weapons of mass destruction. By March 2003, when US and coalition forces invaded, no proof had been found for either charge, and both were soon proved false.