Colin Powell, first black US secretary of state, dies of COVID

Colin Powell, retired general and first black US secretary of state, is dead.

Powell, who was also a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was said to have died of COVID complications on Monday.

The deceased family confirmed his death via a Facebook post.

According to the family, the late Powell was fully vaccinated and was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“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,” the family said.

“He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment.

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

The deceased served as national security advisor to former President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989 and was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under ex-President George HW Bush in 1989.

He was appointed as secretary of state in 2001 Under the Bush administration, and he became the first black person in US history to be so appointed.