October 18, 2021

Colin Powell Dies of COVID

The former secretary of state was 84.

Drew Angerer/Getty

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Colin Powell, the highly decorated Army general who was the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, national security adviser, and secretary of state, died Monday at Walter Reed Medical Center from complications of COVID-19. His family reported that he was fully vaccinated but he suffered from blood cancer and was seriously immunocompromised.

He served as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and was secretary of state for President George W. Bush. He was the first Black person to hold either position. As secretary of state, he gave a speech at the United Nations in support of the Iraq War, which he later described as “painful” and something that will “always be a part of my record.” 

He was 84 years old.

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