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–present) |
| Relations | Wayne Vincent (father) and Edna Lybyer (mother) |
| 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 U.S. 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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Childhood and education[edit]
Lynne Ann Vincent was born 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 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").
Career[edit]
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.[citation needed] 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. Like her husband, she also supports gay marriage.
Family[edit]
Lynne Cheney has one brother, Mark Vincent, who lives in Wyoming with his wife, Linda. Cheney 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 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. 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[edit]
Lynne Cheney is the author or co-author of several books:
- Executive Privilege (1979) (ISBN 0-671-24060-9)
- Sisters (1981; New American Library, Penguin Group) (ISBN 0-451-11204-0)
- American Memory: A Report on the Humanities in the Nations Public Schools (1987) (ISBN 0-16-004284-4)
- Academic Freedom (1992) (ISBN 1-878802-13-5)
- Telling the Truth (1995) (ISBN 0-684-82534-1)
- Kings of the Hill: How Nine Powerful Men Changed the Course of American History (1996) (ISBN 0-7567-5864-5)
- The Body Politic: A Novel (2000) (ISBN 0-312-97963-0)
- America: A Patriotic Primer (2002) (ISBN 0-689-85192-8)
- A is for Abigail : An Almanac of Amazing American Women (2003) (ISBN 0-689-85819-1)
- When Washington Crossed the Delaware : A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots (2004) (ISBN 0-689-87043-4)
- A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America (2005) (ISBN 1-4169-0925-7)
- Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America (2006) (ISBN 0-689-86717-4)
- Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family (2007) (ISBN 1-4165-5328-89)
- We the People: The Story of Our Constitution (2008) (ISBN 1-4169-5418-X)
Wyoming U.S. Senate seat vacancy[edit]
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.
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b Davidson, Lee (January 22, 2006). "Lynne Cheney's ancestors". Deseret News. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ "Ancestry of Lynne Vincent Cheney". William Addams Reitwiesner. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ "Lynne Cheney bio". CNN. 1997. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ USA: Inside Lockheed's $250 Billion Pentagon Connection by Geoffrey Gray, Village Voice, March 19, 2003
- ^ Vice president-elect's wife steps down from Lockheed board, Washington Business Journal – January 5, 2001
- ^ Lynne Cheney blasts Gore comments on media violence – CNN.com
- ^ The Crypt's Blog – Politico.com
References[edit]
- Joe Mandak. "Lynn Cheney Upset With Kerry Over Remark" Associated Press. October 14, 2004.
- Ian Bishop and Deborah Orin. "Veep to Kerry: How Dare You! – 'Angry Dad' Hits Foe for Naming Gay Daughter" New York Post. October 15, 2004.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lynne Cheney |
- White House's Lynne Cheney Page archived
- See 10 Questions for Lynne Cheney on Time.com
- Audio interview with National Review Online
- The Path of the Culture Warrior
- ACTA
- Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
| 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 |
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 |
|
- 1941 births
- Living people
- Cheney family
- American Enterprise Institute
- American Methodists
- 20th-century American novelists
- American people of Danish descent
- American people of English descent
- American people of Irish descent
- American people of Welsh descent
- American people of Swedish descent
- American television talk show hosts
- American women novelists
- American Presbyterians
- American women writers
- Colorado College alumni
- Converts to Methodism
- Former Presbyterians
- People from Casper, Wyoming
- People from Jackson, Wyoming
- Second Ladies of the United States
- Spouses of members of the United States House of Representatives
- Spouses of United States Cabinet members
- United Methodists
- University of Colorado alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- Women writers from Wyoming
- Wyoming Republicans
