Powell, Colin Luther (1937-2021), served as United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to hold the post. President George W. Bush appointed Powell to the office. Powell had previously served as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, and as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest U.S. military advisory group, in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush’s father. Powell was the first African American to hold those posts as well.
Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in New York City. His parents were Jamaican immigrants. He graduated from the City College of New York and earned an M.B.A. degree from George Washington University. Powell was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army in 1958. He served in Vietnam with the 23rd Division in 1968 and 1969. He later commanded forces in South Korea, West Germany, and the United States. In 1986, he became commanding general of the Fifth Corps in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1987, Reagan named him assistant to the president for national security affairs, a position he held until 1989. George H. W. Bush appointed Powell chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. Powell was a general in the Army at the time. He oversaw the 1989 invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. military operation during the Persian Gulf War of 1991 .
In 1991, Powell was awarded the Spingarn Medal for his achievements by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). That same year, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush, and the Congressional Gold Medal. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom again in 1993, from President Bill Clinton.
Powell retired from the post of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and from the Army in 1993. In 1997, President Clinton appointed him chairman of a campaign to promote volunteer efforts directed toward helping children develop learning and work skills. After Powell left the post of secretary of state in 2005, he became a part-time partner in a firm that invests in high-technology companies. Powell’s son, Michael Powell, served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Powell’s written works include the autobiography My American Journey (1995) and It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (2012). Powell died on Oct. 18, 2021.
See also Bush, George Walker ; Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) .
