Skip to main content
Oct 18, 2021 - Politics & Policy

In photos: The life of Colin Powell

headshot

Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state, died of complications from COVID-19 on Monday.

The big picture: In addition to serving as secretary of state from 2001-05, he also was the first Black security adviser to a president when he served for President Reagan and was the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for President George H.W. Bush.

  • Powell was fully vaccinated but had undergone treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that can weaken the immune system, a spokesperson said.

In photos:

Colin Powell speaking at the Rose Garden with former President Ronald Reagan.
Colin Powell, then-national security adviser, addresses the press at the Rose Garden with outgoing Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, President Ronald Reagan and incoming Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci in November of 1987. Powell was the first Black person to serve as national security adviser. Photo: Diana Walker/Getty Images
Colin Powell addressing the press about an invasion in Panama.
Powell, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed reporters at the Pentagon in December of 1989, as then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney looks on. The briefing was about the military operation to remove Panama's General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power. Photo: Bob Pearson/AFP via Getty Images
Then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell on a phone visit with troops in Saudi Arabia.
Powell, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on a phone visit with troops in Saudi Arabia in December of 1990. Photo: Department of Defense/Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Colin Powell and his wife Alma at the 1991 state dinner.
Powell, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arriving at the White House to attend a state dinner with his wife, Alma, in February of 1991. He is survived by Alma and his three children. Photo: Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images
General Powell being awarded the medal of freedom
President George H.W. Bush awards Powell the Presidential Medal of Freedom. First lady Barbara Bush fastens the medal around Powell. He would go on to receive the award again with distinction in 1993. Photo: Howard L. Sachs/CNP/Getty Images
The Princess of Wales and General Colin Powell at the Cerebral Palsy dinner in New York.
Powell with Diana, the Princess of Wales, and Henry Kissinger at a Cerebral Palsy dinner in New York in 1995. Photo: John Stillwell - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
George Bush holds a cabinet meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Powell attends one of his very first Cabinet meetings as secretary of state with President George W. Bush in 2001. Powell would serve as secretary of state from 2001-05. Photo by Mark Wilson/Pool via CNP/Getty Images
Colin Powell addressing the UN in 2003.
Powell, then-secretary of state, addresses the United Nations on Feb. 14, 2003. He testified in favor of a military invasion of Iraq but later referred to the speech as a "blot" on his record, per CNN. Photo: Shawn Baldwin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Powell on Meet the Press
Though he worked in several Republican administrations, Powell endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president on an episode of "Meet the Press" in 2008. The endorsement boosted Obama's candidacy. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for "Meet The Press"
Powell with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
Powell meets with then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden. He endorsed President Obama in 2008 and President Biden in 2020. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Powell during the Capital Concerts' National Memorial Day Concert in May
Powell on stage during the Capital Concerts' "National Memorial Day Concert" in May. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts
Go deeper