Bush to name veteran Cheney as running mate

A Bush-Cheney ticket for the Republican Party appeared all but certain last night, after a senior Republican official confirmed that George W Bush had chosen Richard Cheney, who had been defence secretary in his father's administration, as his running mate. Mr Bush is expected to make a formal announcement today from the Texas capital, Austin, with Mr Cheney by his side.

A Bush-Cheney ticket for the Republican Party appeared all but certain last night, after a senior Republican official confirmed that George W Bush had chosen Richard Cheney, who had been defence secretary in his father's administration, as his running mate. Mr Bush is expected to make a formal announcement today from the Texas capital, Austin, with Mr Cheney by his side.

Mr Cheney, who was 48 when he became defence secretary in 1989, is 59 and known as a quintessential Washington insider, even though he left politics for the world of business when George Bush Snr left the White House in 1993. As a trusted family friend with no personal presidential ambitions - he considered, and rejected, a presidential run of his own before the 1996 race - he was recruited by the younger Bush earlier this year to head his search for a running mate.

Mr Cheney's house near Dallas had been besieged by reporters since rumours of his selection circulated on Friday,sparked by news that he had made a brief trip to his home state of Wyoming on Friday to re-register himself as a voter there. The Constitution stipulates that a President and Vice-President may not come from the same state.

Mr Cheney was White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford and spent 10 years as Congressman for Wyoming.