General Colin Powell died Monday morning due to complications from COVID-19, his family shared.
Powell became the first Black national security adviser at the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, he was the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush, and he was President George W. Bush’s first Secretary of State. Before entering the policy arena, Powell served in combat duty in the Vietnam War.
Powell spent recent years criticizing former president Donald Trump and endorsing Democratic presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Powell came under fire for his role in America’s invasion of Iraq, as he appeared before the U.N Security Council to argue that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He later conceded that it was unlikely Iraq held stockpiles of these weapons.
His family noted that he was fully vaccinated and sought treatment at the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Maryland. Powell, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica, leaves behind wife Alma Powell, three children, and two grand-children.
