Colin Powell dies of COVID complications: Trailblazing first Black U.S. Secretary of State was 84

CNN

Powell's family announced his death, of COVID-19, in a Facebook post this morning. "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," the Powell family statement said. "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." A combat veteran of the Vietnam War who rose to the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Army, Powell was the first Black national security advisor, serving President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. He went on to become the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush, from 1989 to 1993. From 2001 to 2005, he served as President George W. Bush's U.S. secretary of state. In 2018, Powell appeared on Madam Secretary, joining fellow former U.S. secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, in a guest-appearance that took nine months to put together. Powell's daughter, Linda Powell, later guest-starred on Madam Secretary as FBI director. Last year, Powell appeared on the Showtime docuseries The Reagans. Last month, he marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Apple TV+'s Inside the President's War Room and Frontline's America After 9/11. Powell's last live interview was on Fareed Zakaria GPS in January, days after the U.S. Capitol Takeover.