Colin Powell, a former US Secretary of State, died on Monday due to complications from COVID-19, his family announced in a statement.
Powell, who died at the age of 84, was the first Black American to serve in the post of being America’s top diplomat.
The statement said that he had been fully vaccinated against Covid.
“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. He was fully vaccinated.
“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.
“We want to thank the medical staff… for their caring treatment,” the statement read.
Powell was a former top military officer who rose to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He was also appointed the first African-American secretary of state in 2001 under Republican George W. Bush.
He was a moderate Republican who broke with his party to endorse Barack Obama in 2008, became a trusted military adviser to a number of leading US politicians.
However, for many he is associated with the role he played in garnering support for the Iraq war, admitting a speech to the United Nations Security Council using faulty intelligence was “a blot” on his record.
“It was painful. It’s painful now,” Powell told ABC News in 2005.
Additional reporting from BBC and The Hill
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