WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Colin Powell, a former and the first African-American secretary of state, has died at 84 of COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday.
Powell's family said in a statement on Facebook that Powell, who also served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before his role as the top U.S. diplomat, died Monday morning despite being fully vaccinated.
A professional soldier, Powell became the first African-American national security advisor during the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency and the youngest and first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under former President George H. W. Bush.
Yet he was best known and most controversial when he served as secretary of state under former President George W. Bush between January 2001 and January 2005, regarding his push for the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq in 2003 under the excuse that the Middle Eastern country processes weapons of mass destruction, which was never proven. Enditem
