Dear Ms. W:

You wrote:

> Please tell me how I would address the former Vice President of the United
> States in a formal business letter?
>
>
The address normally would either be Mr. or The Honorable. For the salutation either Mr. or Vice-President. Generally, people who attain a significant office (Bishop, Mayor, Governor, Senator, etc.) are addressed by
their title out of respect even after they are no longer in that office. That is also true of retired military. “Mr.” is OK in America, though in some other countries with more aristocratic tradition, a recipient might be less receptive to a “mere” Mister.