Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, has passed away from COVID-19 complications at 84 years old. Powell was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to his family.
The following statement was posted on Powell’s official Facebook page Monday morning:
“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 Covid 19. He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.
The Powell Family”
Powell was the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State in 1989. He served both Democratic and Republican presidents, and oversaw the U.S. invasion of Panama and the U.S. invasion of Kuwait in 1991.
In a statement to the Associated Press, former President George W. Bush said that he and his wife Laura were, “deeply saddened” by Powell’s passing. “He was a great public servant” and “widely respected at home and abroad,” Bush said. “And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man.”
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