Cheney: Loyal Deputy

Richard Bruce Cheney, 34, never got around to writing his doctoral dissertation in political science. Now that he has been named White House chief of staff, he should be able to collect enough material for several Ph.D. theses in no time at all. As one Ford supporter said of last week's shakeup: "The only regret I have is that it leaves the White House in complete disarray. Dick Cheney has got a big job ahead of him." Perhaps the most complicated task will be to harness the competing egos and in-'fighting that characterize Ford's staff.

For much of his career, Cheney has served as a deputy to his departing boss, Donald Rumsfeld--at the Office of Economic Opportunity, in Nixon's White House and at the Cost of Living Council. The partnership was temporarily dissolved when Rumsfeld was appointed U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Then, soon after Rumsfeld went home to organize Gerald Ford's staff in 1974, Cheney signed on as deputy assistant to the President.

Born in Lincoln, Neb., Cheney took bachelor's and master's degrees in political science at the University of Wyoming, then went to the University of Wisconsin for additional graduate work. Named a congressional fellow by the American Political Science Association, he moved to Washington in 1968 to work on the campaign of Wisconsin Congressman William Steiger.

Cheney is tight-lipped and intensely loyal, but in contrast to the frequently brusque Rumsfeld, he is outwardly relaxed on the job. His long hours and increased responsibilities are likely to leave Cheney little time to indulge his passion for summer mountain-climbing expeditions in Wyoming and Colorado with his wife Lynne, to whom he was married in 1964. The Cheneys live with their two daughters, aged six and nine, in Bethesda.

Because of Rumsfeld's policy of "interchangeability"--the practice of having deputies regularly fill in for their bosses--Cheney in the past year has spent almost as much time with the President at home and on the road as Rumsfeld has. Like Rumsfeld, Cheney will run Ford's White House staff and implement his decisions. But he is not expected to be a manipulator of policies and personalities as his old boss was.

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