Colin Powell, a former secretary of state, died from COVID-19 complications. His family announced his death today: “We have suffered a tremendous and benevolent husband, father, grandfather, and great American.”
Powell was the first African-American Bush administration official, who served from 2001 to 2005. He was among the first responders at Ground Zero on September 11th, 2001. The state department credited him with being one of Al-Qaeda’s most vocal supporters for taking quick action against the terrorist organization. He urged Afghan and Pakistani authorities to help locate those responsible
Powell was one of the UN’s early advocates for looking into Saddam’s claims of developing weapons of mass destruction after the war began. Which resulted in another war, where Saddam was caught in the end.
Robert Adrian Powell was born in 1937 in Harlem, New York. His parents were Jamaican immigrants who had moved to the Bronx from Jamaica when he was a baby.
He attended City College, where he enrolled in the ROTC. He then served 35 years in the military with two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was later named Deputy National Security Advisor for President Ronald Reagan.
It was, in fact, President George H.W. Bush who tapped him to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The former President Bush released the following statement:
“Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell,” he said. “He was highly respected at home and abroad. And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man.”
R.I.P
Colin Luther Powell was a soldier, diplomat and statesman who served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005, under President George W. Bush. He also served as National Security Advisor from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993 under President Reagan. From 1997 to 2000 he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), and has been qualified as a jet pilot since 1958 with four thousand nine hundred fifty hours flown in different types of aircraft.
Powell took office on January 20th, 2001 serving during both terms of President George W. Bush, first as National Security Advisor and later as Secretary of State. During his tenure he was a major proponent of the expansion of American power and values around the world. He successfully pushed for ending US sanctions against Cuba, promoted NATO’s bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, and led the Cabinet decision to most-favored nation status for China.
He was named by Time Magazine as one of the “20 Most Influential People in the World”.
He retired from the United States Army on June 30th, 1993 with the rank of General. He was inducted into the Senior Officer Corps of the U.S. Army as a four-star general by President Bill Clinton in 1999. He currently sits on many boards and is an avid speaker across the globe on matters of diplomacy and world affairs. He is an honorary board member for various corporations, chairman of the mission to strengthen international partnerships at the Washington-based National Defense University (NDU), chairman of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, co-chairman of Leadership Through Interaction (LTI).
