Colin Powell dies at the age of 84 as a result of COVID-19 complications

Colin Powell, the first Black US Secretary of State, died of COVID-19 complications, his family announced on Facebook. He was 84 years old.

His service in several Republican administrations shaped American foreign policy in the final years of the twentieth century.

"General Colin L. Powell, former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from COVID-19," his family wrote on Facebook.

"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American," they said, emphasizing that he was fully vaccinated.

Powell's career carried him from combat action in Vietnam to being Ronald Reagan's first Black national security adviser at the conclusion of his presidency, and President George H.W. Bush's youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Following the triumph of the US-led coalition in the Gulf War, his national popularity skyrocketed. He was also a major contender to become the first Black President of the United States in the mid-to-late 1990s.

However, as President George W. Bush's first secretary of state to advocate for the Iraq War, he was hamstrung when he presented false intelligence to the United Nations. This was something he saw as a blemish on his record.