Lynne Cheney

Lynne 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 Lynne Ann Vincent
August 14, 1941
Casper, Wyoming
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Dick Cheney (m. 1964)
Relations Wayne Vincent (father), Edna Lybyer (mother), Philip Perry (son-in-law), and 7 grandchildren
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 the 46th Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. She is an author, scholar, and former talk-show host.

Childhood and education

Lynne Ann Vincent was born on August 14, 1941 in Casper, Wyoming. Her mother, Edna Lolita (née Lybyer), became a deputy sheriff, and her father, Wayne Edwin Vincent, was an engineer. A descendant of Mormon pioneers, and with roots in Denmark, Sweden, England, Ireland, and Wales,[1][2] she was raised Presbyterian and became Methodist upon her marriage to Dick Cheney.[1]

Cheney received her B.A. in English literature with highest honors from Colorado College, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She continued 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".)

Career

Cheney in 2007

Cheney served as the sixth Chair 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.

She 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]

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. She had served on the Lockheed 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.

As Second Lady 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. She also criticized video game makers for similar content.[6]

On an October 10, 2007, episode of The Daily Show, Cheney stated her opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Her daughter Mary is openly lesbian and Lynne Cheney, like her husband Dick, also supports gay marriage.

Family

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 for the State Department's Near East Affairs Bureau. Mary 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 married Poe on June 22, 2012, in Washington, D.C. She gave birth to their first child, Samuel David Cheney, in May 2007, and to their second child, daughter Sarah Lynne Cheney, on November 18, 2009. She is one of her father's top campaign aides and closest confidantes. 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.

Books

Lynne Cheney giving a public reading from her book America: A Patriotic Primer to the students of Vincenza Elementary School in Vicenza, Italy. (2004)

Lynne Cheney is the author or co-author of several books:

Wyoming U.S. Senate seat vacancy

Cheney was considered a possible contender to complete the term of Craig L. Thomas as U.S. Senator from Wyoming following his death in 2007.[7] A spokesman stated that she was considering the post but she never signed an application to become a candidate. If she had won the seat, she would have become the first former "Second Lady" to serve in the Senate, or any public office, since Muriel Humphrey was appointed Senator from Minnesota after her husband's death in 1978.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Davidson, Lee (January 22, 2006). "Lynne Cheney's ancestors". Deseret News. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ancestry of Lynne Vincent Cheney". William Addams Reitwiesner. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Lynne Cheney bio". CNN. 1997. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ USA: Inside Lockheed's $250 Billion Pentagon Connection by Geoffrey Gray, Village Voice, March 19, 2003
  5. ↑ Vice president-elect's wife steps down from Lockheed board, Washington Business Journal – January 5, 2001
  6. ↑ Lynne Cheney blasts Gore comments on media violence – CNN.com
  7. ↑ The Crypt's Blog – Politico.com

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lynne Cheney.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Tipper Gore		 Second Lady of the United States
2001–2009 		Succeeded by
Jill Biden
Preceded by
Joanne Kemp		 Spouse of the Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee
2000, 2004 		Succeeded by
Todd Palin
Government offices
Preceded by
William Bennett		 Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities
1986–1993 		Succeeded by
Sheldon Hackney
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
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