Secretary of State and Gulf War Chief of Staff: Colin Powell dies of coronavirus at age 84

October 18, 2021   

Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and Chief of Staff of the United States, died today (Monday) at the age of 84 following complications from coronavirus disease.

A statement from Powell's family said he had been vaccinated twice.

""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 the coronavirus," the Powell family wrote on Facebook. "We have lost an extraordinary and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great American.".

Powell served as Secretary of State during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the position of Secretary of State.

Between 1989 and 1993, he served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War.

Colin Powell was considered pro-Israel in his positions and had a surprising connection to his Jewish heritage: As a teenager, the young Powell worked in a baby goods store in the Bronx, New York, in a store that was owned by a Jew. Powell learned to speak Yiddish from the other store employees, and managed to surprise Israeli politicians by uttering words in Yiddish.

Former President George W. Bush paid tribute to him: "He was a great public servant, starting with his time as a soldier during the Vietnam War. He was favored by a series of presidents, to the point that he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice.".