RICHARD CHENEY BIO AGE: 59; born Jan. 30, 1941. HOMETOWN: Lincoln, Neb. RELIGION: Methodist. FAMILY: Wife, Lynne, a native of Casper, Wyo.; two grown daughters. EDUCATION: Attended Yale University for one year. Received bachelor's degree from the University of Wyoming, 1965; master's degree in political science, 1966. Did doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin. EXPERIENCE: White House chief of staff under Gerald Ford, 1974-76; Wyoming representative, 1978-89, eventually becoming House Republican whip; secretary of defense under President Bush, 1989-93; chairman and CEO of Dallas-Based Halliburton Corp., one of the world's leading engineering and construction companies in the oil industry, 1995-present. QUOTE: "The vice president is always in a very difficult position, in any circumstances. ... If he challenges the president in policy meetings, disagrees with him, he's viewed as being disloyal." -- 1987, then vice chairman of the House committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair.

A highly placed GOP source said Bush planned to make the offer Monday night or Tuesday. Cheney has told associates he would accept it.

"It's done," said a senior GOP official familiar with the deliberations, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Cheney brings the ticket a wealth of foreign policy experience and stature -- traits that Bush, a two-term Texas governor, lacks himself. He is a bridge between Bush and his father, former President George Bush, who put Cheney in his Cabinet and promoted him for his son's ticket.

In two decades of public service, he served as President Ford's chief of staff, six terms in Congress from Wyoming and four years as Pentagon chief, where he successfully executed the Persian Gulf War.

He had been the leading candidate since Friday, and was the only prospect under serious consideration after Bush emerged from seclusion from a weekend at his Texas ranch.

Even before the deal was sealed, Republican officials welcomed the prospect of a Bush-Cheney ticket. "I think it's a terrific choice," said Republican operative Charlie Black, responding to reports of Bush's choice. "He brings experience from not only the political world but also the foreign policy arena and he has been a leader in Congress."

Former Missouri Sen. John Danforth lingered on the short list, but his prospects faded throughout the weekend as Bush mulled his options.

Bush had hoped to keep his selection a secret until Tuesday's announcement.

"No news today. No news today. No news today," Bush told reporters jostling for word of his choice outside the governor's mansion Monday afternoon. "I will let you know soon."

With a short list of Cheney and Danforth, Bush seemed determined to pick a rock-solid conservative with Washington experience who poses little or no political risk.

Bolder options were available to Bush. Among the GOP stalwarts who had been under consideration: Frank Keating of Oklahoma, a little known governor with a shoot-from-the lip style, and abortion-rights supporter Tom Ridge, governor of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

Also mentioned as prospects: Gov. George Pataki of New York; Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Fred Thompson and Bill Frist of Tennessee; Rep. John Kasich of Ohio; and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander.

With so much at stake, rumors and speculation buzzed throughout the GOP community here and in Washington. The hottest gossip: Retired Gen. Colin Powell, who has frustrated Bush with his refusal to serve on the ticket, had reportedly entered negotiations with the Bush camp.

Sources deep inside the Powell and Bush camps quickly denied the report.

Cheney headed Bush's search team, but emerged as a serious candidate after Bush considered or met with the prospects reviewed by Cheney -- ending with a secret Danforth meeting last week.

All signs had pointed to Cheney for days. He changed his voter registration from Texas to Wyoming to avoid a hitch in the Constitution; he told business associates he had a good chance of getting the job and leaving his company, Halliburton Co. of Dallas; and he forwarded an all-clear health report from his doctors to Bush.

Cheney, 59, sold nearly half his interest in Halliburton stock -- some 100,000 shares -- last month, raising an estimated $5.1 million. Before the sale, Cheney held options on 229,000 shares.

The health report came at the behest of Bush and his father, former President Bush, both of whom wanted to know whether Cheney's history of heart trouble would pose a problem in the campaign.

Sensitive to suggestions that the elder Bush is a quiet power behind his son's White House bid, campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said the call to Cheney's doctor was the only action taken by the former president in the review process.

Cheney served as defense secretary under President Bush, helping the president forge an international coalition in the Persian Gulf War. Before that, he served six terms in Congress from Wyoming and as chief of staff for President Ford.

His appointment would add stature and Washington experience to the ticket. Bush has faced questions about whether he is ready to be president, and advisers believe a running mate who knows his way around the White House -- and around the world -- would fill in the so-called gravitas gap.

In Congress, Cheney appealed to moderates, but racked up a conservative voting record and was a solid Ronald Reagan supporter. He was mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for Bush in 1992.

He is anti-abortion but says the party must accommodate Republicans on both sides of the debate.

Cheney suffered three mild heart attacks by age 48, including one while campaigning for the Wyoming House seat in the primaries. He has undergone coronary bypass surgery.

A rare black mark on his record: He admitted writing 21 bad checks while serving in the House, but told the Ethics Committee that investigated the House banking scandal that he always had a positive balance and no checks were returned for insufficient funds.

In 1991, he gave Pentagon briefings to GOP supporters who donated $5,000 to the Republican National Committee.

Twice-failed presidential candidate Lamar Alexander was told by Cheney in May he was under consideration and was contacted again last week by Cheney's office. A GOP source not tied to Alexander confirmed that he had been under consideration.

Like Danforth, who predicted Sunday that Cheney would get the job, Alexander had praise for the former Pentagon chief.

"If he's looking for somebody who's prepared to do the job and who would be a loyal subordinate, you know he's got Cheney cold," Alexander said in a telephone interview.