WASHINGTON — Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said in a statement on Facebook Monday.
Powell was 84 years old.
"General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19. He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American, " the Powell family wrote on Facebook.
Powell started off his career as a Vietnam soldier before becoming the first Black national security adviser during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Under President George H.W. Bush's administration, he became the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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