Former U.S. President George W Bush has reacted to the death of Dick Cheney in an emotional tribute, calling his passing "a loss to the nation and sorrow to friends".

In a statement released on Tuesday, Bush said that himself and wife Laura, would remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honourable man that he was. 

"History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation - a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held." he said.

The former vice president died Monday night from complications of pneumonia, and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said.

Cheney who was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history was aged 84, at the time of his death.

Bush also narrated how Cheney became his running mate in 2000, calling him a "calm and steady presence".

"As a young White House aide and chief of staff, a Congressman, a Secretary of Defense, and my Vice President, Dick earned the confidence and high opinion of five presidents. I asked him to join my ticket in 2000 after first enlisting him to help me find the best running mate.

"In our long discussions about the qualities a vice president should have - deep experience, mature judgment, character, loyalty - I realized that Dick Cheney was the one I needed.

I'm still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed. Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges."

A strong advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Cheney was among the most outspoken of Bush administration officials warning of the danger from Iraq's alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found.

He also expanded the clout of the vice president's office by putting together a national security team that often served as a power center of its own within the administration.

He clashed with several top Bush aides, including Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and defended "enhanced" interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects that included waterboarding and sleep deprivation.

"In our nation's 248 year-history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," said the man who had long been a foe of the left.

Cheney was troubled much of his life by heart problems, suffering the first of a number of heart attacks at age 37. He had a heart transplant in 2012. Who was Dick Cheney?

Born Richard Bruce Cheney in Lincoln, Nebraska in January 1941, Cheney grew up in Casper, Wyoming. 

He earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Political Science from the Univeristy of Wyoming. 

Cheney had a political career spanning over three decades where he served in various roles including U.S. Representative from Wyoming, part of the transition team for President Gerald Ford and later as deputy assistant to the President. 

In November 1975, he was named Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff. He also served as Secretary of Defence. 

According to his biographer, John Nichols, Cheney repeatedly applied for deferments and exemptions to avoid conscription.

"Cheney reacted to the prospect of wearing his country’s uniform like a man with a deadly allergy to olive drab," Nichols wrote in The Nation magazine in 2011. 

Cheney stated that he would have been happy to serve.

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