Colin Luther Powell, the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black Secretary of State, died of COVID-19 complications at the age of 84.
Born in New York City to Jamaican parents, Powell started his military career as a second lieutenant with the Army before rising through the ranks to become Deputy National Security Advisor, National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He capped his political career as Secretary of State for President George W. Bush before retiring from public service.
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Colin Luther Powell, born April 5, 1937, was an American statesman and a retired four-star general with the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005) under the George W. Bush administration. He was also the first Black appointee to the position.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
U.S. Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger confers with then-Army Maj. Gen. Colin Powell, right, during testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 8, 1985. Powell, who went on to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. He was 84.
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The newly appointed National Security Council Advisor Colin L. Powell seen in 1988. Powell served as the NSC advisor from 1988 to 1989, before he was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George H.W. Bush.
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Lt. Gen. Colin Powell seen with his family after his appointment as Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council Advisor in 1988.
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Barry Thumma/AP
President Ronald Reagan, accompanied by National Security Council advisor Colin Powell, leaves the White House in Washington, Dec. 16, 1988. Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications. He was 84.
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Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, left, administers the oath of office to General Colin Powell as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Oct. 6, 1989. General Powell’s wife, Alma, is shown holding the Bible.
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Pres. George Bush announces the appointment of Gen. Colin Powell to be Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in the White House Rose Garden in 1989.
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Bob Pearson/AFP via Getty Images
General Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, briefs reporters at the Pentagon Dec. 20, 1989, about the military operation to remove Panama’s General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power and bring him to the US for trial on drug charges. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney is at the left.
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Jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma via Getty Images
General Colin Powell holds a press conference at the Pentagon to discuss the status of the Persian Gulf War. In August of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, causing the United States to lead a coalition of countries to expel Iraqi forces from the region.
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Bob Pearson/AFP via Getty Images
General Colin Powell, head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, tours the bombed courtyard of the Panaminian Defense Force Comandancia in Panama City to review US troops and receive a briefing on Operation Just Cause, the US invasion of Panama, Jan. 5, 1990.
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General Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at right, sits in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with 82nd Airborne Division personnel as he prepares for takeoff. Powell was planning to visit a base camp during Operation Desert Shield, Sept. 13, 1990.
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From left: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and CENTCOM Commander General Norman Schwarzkopf discuss plans for Operation Desert Storm Feb. 12, 1991, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Getty Images
From left: Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Carl Edward Vuono, USA; Gen.Larry D. Welch, USAF; Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA; Gen. Robert T. Herres, USAF; Adm. Carlisle A.H. Trost, USN and Gen. Alfred M. Gray, USMC as seen on Nov. 7, 1989.
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Colin Powell seen at Nelson Mandela’s Inauguration, May 10, 1994.
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Secretary of State Colin Powell, President George W. Bush, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld seen at a NATO summit in Prague, November 2002. The meeting welcomed seven formerly communist nations as members, all pledging to help fight the war in terrorism.
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From left: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Gordon Felt and General Tommy Franks bow their heads in a moment of silence at the 8th anniversary of the Sept. 11 crash of Flight 93, Sept. 11, 2009, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards
Colin Powell accepts the President’s award onstage at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on March 4, 2011, in Los Angeles, California.
