Elizabeth Cheney

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Elizabeth Cheney bigraphy, stories - Officials

Elizabeth Cheney : biography

July 28, 1966 –

Elizabeth Cheney Perry (born July 28, 1966), commonly called Liz Cheney, is an American attorney and political commentator. Cheney is the elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Second Lady Lynne Cheney. She held several positions in the U.S. State Department during the George W. Bush administration. She has been politically active on behalf of the Republican Party and is a co-founder of Keep America Safe. Cheney currently serves as a political analyst for Fox News and is reported to be considering a 2014 bid for the Senate from Wyoming.

2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign

After two years of service, Cheney left her first State Department post in 2003 to serve in her father’s re-election campaign.Peter Slevin, "Vice President’s Daughter to Leave State Dept." Washington Post, November 18, 2003. Participating in the "W Stands for Women" initiative to target female voters, Cheney spoke often of how women have enlarged their scope of political issues, invoking the September 11 attacks and "security." Mike Allen, "The Five (or More) W’s," Washington Post, May 13, 2004.

2008 Republican presidential campaigns

Cheney signed on in June 2007 to serve as one of three national co-chairs for Fred Thompson’s 2008 presidential campaign. The other co-chairs were Spencer Abraham and George Allen. In a press release issued at the beginning of his campaign, Thompson said he was "very pleased to announce that former Senators Abraham and Allen, as well as Liz Cheney, will serve as co-chairs of my national leadership team." Thompson added: "These distinguished individuals bring wise counsel and invaluable experience to my campaign leadership team, and they will play a critical role in helping spread my consistent conservative message across America."Karen Hanretty, "Fred Thompson announces his Presidential Campaign," Thompson campaign press release, October 8, 2007. After Thompson dropped out of the race, Cheney announced on January 27, 2008 that she would work for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, serving as a senior foreign policy advisor.

Personal life

Cheney is one of two daughters of former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Second Lady Lynne Cheney; her younger sister is Mary Cheney. Cheney graduated from McLean High School (1984), where she was a cheerleader. She received her bachelor’s degree from Colorado College, where she wrote her senior thesis, "The Evolution of Presidential War Powers," (1988). She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Chicago Law School (1996), having also taken courses in Middle Eastern history at the Oriental Institute.

Cheney is married to Philip Perry, the former General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security. She and Perry have five children: three daughters—Kate, Elizabeth, and Grace—and two sons, Philip and Richard. The elder four attend The Potomac School in Virginia.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs

In 2002, Cheney was appointed to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs,Gellman, p. 37 a pre-existing vacant post with an "economic portfolio," which is a mandate to promote investment in the region. Amid reports, including a New York Times editorial by Paul Krugman, saying that the job was created especially for her, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that she had come recommended by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell.Dana Milbank, "In Appointments, Administration Leaves No Family Behind," Washington Post, March 12, 2002. The Times (London) reported that Cheney’s appointment was "the most intriguing sign that America is getting serious about Middle East reform" and that the appointment was "a measure of the seriousness with which the administration was taking Middle East programmes for literacy, education, and reform.""Cheney Family Try a New Peace Tack," The Times, 11-09-2003. The appointment followed publicized policy divisions between the Vice President’s office and the State Department on Middle East policy. In that position, she was given control of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, designed to "foster increased democracy and economic progress in a troubled region." The program spent $29 million in 2002, increased to $129 million in the following year. Cheney’s task was to channel money to pre-screened groups, some of which were not identified publicly for fear of retaliations from extant governments they sought to undermine. For the budget year 2004, the project sought $145 million.Glenn Kessler and Peter Slevin, "Cheney is Fulcrum of Foreign Policy: In Interagency Fights, His Views Often Prevail," Washington Post, October 13, 2002