Cheney, who previously served as a U.S. congressman and defense secretary, passed away due to complications arising from pneumonia, along with cardiac and vascular diseases, as confirmed by his family.

Former President Bush praised Cheney as a “patriot who infused integrity, exceptional intelligence, and a serious commitment to every role he undertook.”

During the 1990-91 Gulf War, Cheney was at the helm of the Pentagon, overseeing a U.S.-led coalition that successfully drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Cheney once predicted that U.S. forces would be “welcomed as liberators” upon entering Iraq. Source: AAP / James Kudla / Sipa USA

As vice president, Cheney brought his neo-conservative ideology to the White House and played a greater role in making major policy decisions than many of his predecessors in the role.

His inaccurate claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction fuelled the drumbeat for war ahead of the 2003 US invasion.