Colin Powell's Life in Photos

On Oct. 18, 2021, news broke that Powell died of COVID-related complications. He was 84 years old.

Multiple outlets including CNN and The New York Times reported that Powell had privately been battling multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.

"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," a statement on the Powell family wrote in a statement on his Facebook page, noting that "he was fully vaccinated."

Continued the statement, "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."

Upon his death, George W. Bush remembered Powell as a "great public servant," saying in a statement, "He was such a favorite of Presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom — twice. He was highly respected at home and abroad. 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."

Born in Harlem in 1937 to Jamaican immigrants, Colin Powell said he found his calling while attending City College of New York, when he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and became commander of his unit's drill team.

He graduated at the top of his class in 1958, having earned the rank of cadet colonel and being commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army.

During his first tour of Vietnam in 1963, Powell was awarded both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

He was injured in a helicopter crash during his second tour of Vietnam, ultimately rescuing his fellow service members from the burning helicopter and earning the Soldier's Medal as a result.

In the 1970s, Powell was awarded a White House Fellowship and assigned to the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of President Richard Nixon. He followed his fellowship with with service as a battalion commander in South Korea and, later, with a job at the Pentagon. He then served in roles at the Defense Department under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan (pictured).

Powell became a national figure in 1989, when he was promoted to a four-star general and became the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush — the first Black person named to the position — and put in charge of the 1990 Gulf War.

He continued his role as chairman into the administration of President Bill Clinton, resigning from the position in September 1993. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from both men.

Powell became the 65th Secretary of State in January 2001, serving in that role under George W. Bush until January 2005. He was the first Black person to hold the position.

Powell's tenure at State would grow to become controversial, particularly due to his role in the Iraq War and the U.S. effort to oust Saddam Hussein.

Speaking to the United Nations in a 2003 speech, Powell laid out the Bush administration's rationale for the invasion of Iraq, saying there was "no doubt" that Hussein had hidden chemical and biological weapons in Iraq. Intelligence would later confirm that such a weapons program was nonexistent.

Speaking to Frontline in 2006, Powell later called that speech "a great intelligence failure."

In his later years, Powell retreated into a more private life, serving on a handful of boards and making speeches around the U.S. in addition to casually advising President Barack Obama. At right, he accepts the President's Award at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards in 2011 in L.A.

According to the Military Times, Powell received more than one-dozen military decorations in all, including the Legion of Merit.

In 1993, he also received honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth for his role in U.S.-British relations. Per the Independent, he was deemed Honorary Knight Commander in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

Powell married his wife, Alma Powell, in August 1962. The two have three children: Michael, Linda and Annemarie, and multiple grandchildren.