The end result was the defeat of the accord with
54 percent of voters, constituting majorities in sev-
eral western Canadian provinces and Quebec, vot-
ing against it.
Impact The Charlottetown Accord demonstrated
the strength of divisions within Canada. Voters in
Quebec voted against it because they believed it did
not provide Quebec with enough powers, while in
the other provinces the vote against was based on the
perception that it offered too much power to Que-
bec. The failure of the accord was also another indi-
cation of the unpopularity of Mulroney’s Progres-
sive Conservative government, which had initiated
the process and pushed for its ratification. Finally,
those who opposed the agreement, namely Pres-
ton Manning and the Reform Party and Lucien
Bouchard and the Bloc Québécois, would benefit
from their opposition in the 1993 federal election.
Further Reading
McRoberts, Kenneth, and Patrick Monahan.The
Charlottetown Accord, the Referendum, and the Future
of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1993.
Newman, Peter C.The Canadian Revolution, 1985-
1995: From Deference to Defiance. Toronto: Viking
Press, 1995.
Steve Hewitt
See also Bloc Québécois; Chrétien, Jean; Elec-
tions in Canada; Minorities in Canada; Mulroney,
Brian; Quebec referendum of 1995.
Cheney, Dick
Identification U.S. secretary of defense, 1989-
1993
Born January 30, 1941; Lincoln, Nebraska
Cheney’s insights regarding foreign policy and defense is-
sues were instrumental in shaping the direction of the U.S.
militar y and homeland security.
After starting out as a congressional intern and be-
ing involved in politics for twenty years—including
serving as a congressman from Wyoming—Dick
Cheney served as secretary of defense under Presi-
dent George H. W. Bush from March, 1989, to Janu-
ary, 1993. He was confirmed with a vote of 92 to 0.
Cheney’s first major defense issue in office was
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. With the aid
of Cheney’s top advisers, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell and Under Secretary of
Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz, Panama was in-
vaded and, on January 3, 1990, Noriega was in Amer-
ican custody as a prisoner of war and later convicted
under several federal charges.
In August, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Soon after,
Cheney flew to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Fahd
to discuss deploying U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia, thus
beginning Operation Desert Shield. Then, on Janu-
ary 15, 1991, the United Nations ordered that Iraq
remove its troops from Kuwait. When Iraq refused,
Congress authorized Cheney to sign an order to exe-
cute Operation Desert Storm. The war lasted six
weeks and was extremely successful, resulting in
Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. In conjunction with
President Bush and Colin Powell, Cheney decided
to leave Saddam Hussein in power because of strong
rumblings that the Iraqis would bring down their
own leader. Cheney was presented with the Presi-
dential Medal of Freedom on July 3, 1991, for his suc-
cessful management of the Gulf War. During his
tenure as secretary of defense, Cheney was also influ-
ential in decisions regarding U.S. involvement in
matters with the Soviet Union, Somalia, and Bosnia.160 Cheney, Dick The Nineties in America
Dick Cheney in 1992.(AP/Wide World Photos)