Cheney, 59, is a courtly, somewhat portly figure, whose finest hour came in 1991 when he was secretary of defense under Bush's father, former President George Bush, and directed the massive U.S. military operation to expel an Iraqi occupation army from Kuwait.

As a vice presidential candidate, Cheney should project an image of experience, seriousness of purpose and immense competence. He could also prove to be a little dull on the campaign trail.

"Cheney adds gravitas to the ticket and sends a strong signal to voters that Bush is serious about governing this nation and also a strong signal to U.S. allies and adversaries overseas about how serious this candidate is," said Scott Reed, campaign manager for defeated 1996 Republican candidate Bob Dole.

During many years of friendship with the Bush family, Cheney has been loyal and discreet. The younger Bush tapped him to head his vice presidential search and then decided the man doing the searching was the best candidate of all.

Two years after leaving the government in 1993, Cheney became CEO of Halliburton Co., the world's largest oil field service company, where he earned almost $2 million last year plus stock options worth between $7.4 million and $18.8 million depending on the company's future stock performance.

Energy industry analysts said Cheney used his exceptional contacts in oil-producing Middle East and Asian nations as well as domestically to advance the company's interests. Halliburton's business dealings with countries including Iran are likely to be scrutinized during the campaign.

That could open Bush to the criticism that, as a former oil man himself, he has put together a ticket that leans too far towards the interests of "big oil."

The other potential problem for Cheney is his history of heart trouble, including three heart attacks in the 1980s and bypass surgery in 1988. Any hint of a problem on the campaign trail would be enormously troublesome for the Bush campaign.

But Bush officials brushed off the concern. "I can't imagine a more stressful situation than being a secretary of defense in a shooting war," said campaign manager Karl Rove.

"He's a high altitude skier. He's an active outdoorsman, a hunter and a fisherman. And I don't see if he were to be chosen, that this would be any kind of a problem," he said.

Born in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 30, 1941, Richard Bruce Cheney got his undergraduate and master's degrees in political science from the University of Wyoming.

He is married to the former Lynne Ann Vincent, herself a well-known conservative voice on cultural issues and former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and has two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary.

A well-known and well-liked figure around Washington since a stint as President Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the mid-1970s, Cheney served 10 years as Wyoming's only congressman, compiling a highly conservative record including a 100 percent voting record on anti-abortion issues.

If anyone ever embodied the Teddy Roosevelt's maxim to speak softly but carry a big stick, it is Cheney. He blends pinstripe elegance with cowboy boots and a voice so quiet that a listener might have to lean forward to catch his words, only to find they express a sobering hard line on some national security issue.

Cheney was drafted by President Bush for the job of secretary of defense in early 1989 as an emergency replacement for John Tower, who was rejected after allegations of excessive drinking and other improprieties.

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August, 1990, Cheney was a key advocate for President Bush's hard line and personally persuaded Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to open his deserts to a huge U.S.-led force to expel the invaders.

That done, Cheney directed creation of a gargantuan military machine that sent 540,000 American troops plus armadas of warplanes, ships and tanks to the Gulf region.

In February of 1991, that force and troops from other allied countries smashed Iraq's military with a devastating air campaign and three-day ground assault that drove Iraq's forces from Kuwait.

Typically, Cheney was content to stay mostly in the background, allowing the more colorful Gen. Colin Powell and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf to become public spokesmen.

Cheney was also in charge of the defense establishment during the controversial December 1989 invasion of Panama by 15,000 U.S. troops who ousted military ruler Manuel Noriega.

Shortly before that, it was Cheney who ordered U.S. jets to provide air cover for then-Philippine President Corazon Aquino as she struggled to survive a coup attempt.

Cheney handled those challenges while also presiding over deep military budget cuts forced by economic realities on a defense establishment accustomed to the lavish spending of President Ronald Reagan's eight-year military buildup.

After leaving office, Cheney toyed briefly with the idea of running for president in 1996 but decided against the idea.

Cheney has been CEO of Halliburton since 1995 and recently took on the title of chairman. He holds a $45.5 million stake as the company's biggest individual stockholder.

In addition, Cheney serves on the board of directors for Union Pacific Corp., Procter & Gamble Co. and Electronic Data Systems Corp..