Colin Powell, the influential former four-star general and U.S. secretary of state, has died from Covid-19 complications at age 84, his family announced Monday.
Mr Powell was born to Jamaican immigrants in 1937 and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC] while a student at City College of New York, according to the State Department’s website.
He became one of the most decorated military officials and served as National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for President George H W Bush and as Secretary of State for George W Bush.
Mr Powell was the first black person to hold all three titles.
“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” his family said in a statement.