Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 who was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice-presidents in U.S. history has died at age 84, his family said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cheney died Monday night from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said.

The Republican – a former Wyoming congressman and secretary of defence – was already a major Washington player when then-Texas governor George W. Bush chose him to be his running mate in the 2000 presidential race that Bush went on to win.