Colin Powell, Gulf War chief and first US black Secretary of State, dies at 84
COLIN Powell, America’s first black Secretary of State and top military officer, has died of Covid complications aged 84.
His family said the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been fully vaccinated and was receiving treatment atWalter Reed National Medical Centre, which previously treated Donald Trump for Covid.
They added: “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather – and a great American.”
Powell’s popularity soared after the US-led coalition’s victory in the GulfWar in 1991.
For a time he was considered a leading contender to become the first black president.
In September 1993, the Queen gave him an honorary knighthood in recognition of his contribution to British-US relations. However, his reputation was sullied when, as George W Bush’s first Secretary of State, he pushed faulty intelligence before the United Nations to advocate for the Iraq War, which he would later call a “blot” on his record.
Born in April 1937 in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants, Powell was brought up in the tough South Bronx area of the city.
As a teenager he became an army cadet. His military career included combat duty in Vietnam. He would go on to become the first black national security adviser during the end of
Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and the youngest and first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George HW Bush.
In 2012, he presented Prince Harry, then a soldier, with the Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership Award.
Yesterday Boris Johnson said: “I am sorry to hear of the death of Colin Powell. He leaves a lasting legacy. I’m sure his life will continue to be an inspiration to many.”
Former prime minister Sir John Major said: “Colin Powell was one of the finest men I ever met. And, perhaps, one of the finest Americans never to be president.”
Ex-PM Tony Blair added: “Colin was a towering figure in American military and political leadership over many years, someone of immense capability and integrity, a hugely likeable and warm personality, with a lovely and self-deprecating sense of humour.”
Later in his public life, Powell grew disillusioned with the Republican Party’s drift to the right and would help elect Democrats to the White House, most notably Barack Obama.
He was a critic of Mr Trump, saying he could no longer consider himself a Republican because of him.
Powell is survived by wife Alma, who he married in 1962, plus three children and four grandchildren.