| Lynne Ann Vincent Cheney | |
|---|---|
| Second Lady of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Tipper Gore |
| Succeeded by | Jill Biden |
| 6th Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities | |
| In office 1986–1993 |
|
| Preceded by | William Bennett John Agresto (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Sheldon Hackney Jerry L. Martin and Donald Gibson (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 14, 1941 Casper, Wyoming |
| Spouse(s) | Dick Cheney |
| Relations | Wayne Vincent and Edna Lybyer |
| Children | Elizabeth Cheney, Mary Cheney |
| Alma mater | Colorado College (B.A.) University of Colorado (M.A.) University of Wisconsin (PhD) |
| Religion | United Methodist Church |
Lynne Ann Cheney (née Vincent; born August 14, 1941) is the wife of former United States Vice President Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. She is a novelist, conservative scholar, and former talk-show host.
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A descendant of Mormon pioneers with roots in Denmark, England, Ireland, and Wales,[1] Lynne Ann Vincent was born in Casper, Wyoming. Her father was Wayne Edwin Vincent, an engineer; her mother, Edna Lybyer, became a deputy sheriff. She was raised Presbyterian and became Methodist upon her marriage to Dick Cheney.[2]
Cheney received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with highest honors from Colorado College, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She furthered her education with a Master of Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a PhD in 19th century British literature from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (her dissertation was entitled "Matthew Arnold's Possible Perfection: A Study of the Kantian Strain in Arnold's Poetry").
Lynne Cheney served as chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993. In 1995, she founded American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a think tank devoted to reforming higher education.
Lynne Cheney is a senior fellow in education and culture at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. She also serves as a director of Reader's Digest Association, Inc. From 1995 to 1998, Cheney served as the co-host of the Sunday edition of CNN's Crossfire, replacing Tony Snow.[3]
Lynne Cheney served on Lockheed Corporation's board of directors from 1994 to 2001. She gave up the $120,000-a-year position shortly before her husband's inauguration. Cheney served on the board's Finance, and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees.[4][5]
In 2000, she was mentioned as a possible conservative female pick for Republican Vice Presidential nominee on the George W. Bush ticket. The appointed head of the nominating committee was her husband, Dick Cheney, then the CEO of Halliburton, who eventually emerged as Bush's choice.
She repeatedly spoke out against violent and sexually explicit lyrics in popular music, including those of rapper Eminem (Marshall Bruce Mathers III), picking up on an issue that was originally made famous by former Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper. Lynne Cheney also criticized video game makers for similar content.[6]
On an October 10, 2007 episode of The Daily Show, Lynne Cheney stated her opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Lynne Cheney has one brother, Mark Vincent, who lives in Wyoming with his wife, Linda. She has been married to Richard "Dick" Cheney since 1964. They have two daughters and seven grandchildren. Their daughters are Elizabeth Cheney and Mary Cheney. Elizabeth, also known as Liz, was born July 28, 1966, and is married to Philip Perry, the former general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. They have five children. She graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1996 and has worked as an international law attorney, consultant, and now for the State Department's Near East Affairs Bureau. Mary Cheney was born March 14, 1969. Openly lesbian, she lives with her partner, Heather Roan Poe (born April 11, 1961), in Great Falls, Virginia. Mary Cheney gave birth to her first child, Samuel David Cheney, in May 2007. She is one of her father's top campaign aides and closest confidantes. Lynne and Dick Cheney have expressed support for their daughter. In July 2003, Mary became the director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential re-election campaign. She was a vital part of the campaign. Until May 2000, she was the lesbian/gay corporate relations manager for the Coors Brewing Company. In 2006, she wrote a book about working with her father.
Lynne Cheney is the author or co-author of several books:
Cheney had been considered as a possible contender to fulfill the late U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas' term in the U.S. Senate.[7] A Cheney spokesman stated she was considering the post. Cheney chose not to seek the seat when she did not sign an application to become a candidate for the position. If she had won the seat, she would have become the first "Second Lady" to serve in public office or in the Senate since Senator Muriel Humphrey.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tipper Gore |
Second Lady of the United States 2001–2009 |
Succeeded by Jill Biden |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by William Bennett |
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities 1986–1993 |
Succeeded by Sheldon Hackney |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Tipper Gore Former Second Lady |
Order of precedence in the United States of America | Succeeded by John Dingell Dean of the House of Representatives |