Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state, dies of Covid-19 complications

“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American,” a statement said.

“We want to thank the medical staff… for their caring treatment,” it said.

Colin Luther Powell, American politician, diplomat, and retired four-star general who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005.

Powell was the first African-American Secretary of State.

He also saw service in Vietnam, an experience that later helped define his own military and political strategies.

As the first Black US secretary of state, his leadership in several Republican administrations helped shape American foreign policy in the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st.

Powell is also, to this day, the only black man to have served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – appointed by George H. W. Bush