Colin Powell, who served Democratic and Republican presidents in war and peace, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday.
He was 84.
In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully vaccinated.
“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father and grandfather and a great American,” the family said.
Powell had been treated at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
In 1989, he became the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that role, he oversaw the U.S. invasion of Panama and later the U.S. invasion of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991.
General Colin Powell once showed me his personal ‘life rules’ chart that he took everywhere.
It included:
‘Get mad, then get over it. Share credit.
Remain calm.
Be kind.
Have a vision.
Be demanding.’
They seem like pretty damn good life rules to me. What a great man. pic.twitter.com/fkzjhSqCwn— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 18, 2021
Powell again made history when he became the first black secretary of state during the Bush administration.
Former President George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush were “deeply saddened” by Powell’s death.
“He was a great public servant” and “widely respected at home and abroad,” Bush said. “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.”
Statement from former President George W. Bush on the passing of Sec. Colin Powell pic.twitter.com/ilPWTvlA1L
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) October 18, 2021
Colin Powell throughout the years: https://t.co/QumhPjvGM7
The former Secretary of State has died from COVID complications. He was 84 years old. https://t.co/HsMNtlhPBu pic.twitter.com/Y3iDIX74k4
— ABC News (@ABC) October 18, 2021
Powell maintained, in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, that on balance, the U.S. succeeded in Iraq.
“I think we had a lot of successes. Iraq’s terrible dictator is gone,” he said, referring to Saddam Hussein.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.