Colin Powell
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Colin Powell was an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American to serve in that role, having previously been the first African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Powell's career was defined by his leadership during the Gulf War and his influential but controversial advocacy for the Iraq War before the United Nations Security Council.
Early life and education
Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, New York City, to Jamaican immigrant parents. He grew up in the South Bronx and attended Morris High School. In 1954, he entered the City College of New York, where he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and discovered his calling for military service. He graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.
Military career
Powell served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War, first as a military advisor and later as an infantry battalion executive officer, where he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for heroism. His career accelerated with roles at the Pentagon and as a White House Fellow under the Nixon administration. He later served as senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position in which he became a national figure for his strategic oversight of Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War.
Political career
Following his retirement from the Army in 1993, Powell's popularity led to widespread speculation about a potential presidential run, though he declined to seek the Republican nomination in 1996. He instead focused on public service, founding America's Promise, a nonprofit organization for youth. He served on the boards of several major institutions, including the United Negro College Fund and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2000, he played a prominent role at the Republican National Convention endorsing the candidacy of George W. Bush.
Secretary of State
Appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate, Powell became Secretary of State in 2001. He navigated international diplomacy after the September 11 attacks and helped build the coalition for the war in Afghanistan. His tenure is most remembered for his February 2003 address to the United Nations Security Council, where he presented intelligence alleging Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction; the subsequent Iraq War and lack of WMD findings later damaged his reputation. He often found himself at odds with more hawkish members of the Bush administration, such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Later life and death
After resigning as Secretary of State in 2005, Powell remained active in public life, writing a memoir, *My American Journey*, and endorsing Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. He continued to criticize the direction of the Republican Party and broke with it to endorse Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Powell died on October 18, 2021, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, from complications of COVID-19 while battling multiple myeloma.
Personal life and legacy
Powell married Alma Johnson in 1962, and they had three children, including former Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell. He was a recipient of numerous civilian honors, including two Presidential Medals of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. His legacy is complex, celebrated for his trailblazing achievements as an African American in the highest echelons of the military and diplomacy, yet permanently shadowed by his pivotal role in making the case for the Iraq War.
Category:Colin Powell Category:1937 births Category:2021 deaths Category:United States Secretaries of State Category:United States Army generals