Colin Powell, former US secretary of state under Bush, dies of Covid-19 at 84
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the Washington Ideas Forum, September 30, 2015 © Jonathan Ernst, Reuters
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3 min
Former Secretary of State under George W. Bush, Colin Powell, died at the age of 84 from "
complications related to Covid-19,
" his family announced Monday (October 18th).
In a statement, former President Bush praised a "
great servant of the state
" who was "
highly respected
".
He had been the first African-American to hold the head of American diplomacy.
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"
We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, and grandfather, and a great American,
" they said in a statement posted on social media, adding that he was "
fully vaccinated
."
Colin Powell died at Walter Reed Hospital, located in suburban Washington, where US presidents are often treated.
A four-star general in the Army, he was the first African-American to serve as the Chief of the Defense Staff under President George HW Bush.
He then became head of American diplomacy under the Republican presidency of the son, George W. Bush.
He then had to advocate the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"
So appreciated that he had received the presidential medal ... twice
"
The US Defense Minister also paid tribute to a "
great man
". “
The world has lost one of its greatest men,
” said Lloyd Austin during a trip to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. “
I have lost a great friend and a mentor,
” he added.
Shortly after his family's announcement, George W. Bush praised the memory of "
a great servant of the state
." "
Many presidents have relied on the judgment and experience of General Powell,
" the former Republican president noted in a statement. “
He was highly respected at home and abroad,
” he added. According to the former Republican president, he "
was so appreciated by presidents that he had received the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... twice
".
Born April 5, 1937 in Harlem, to a Jamaican immigrant family, Colin Powell grew up in New York City, where he studied geology.
After having been a student not "
particularly brilliant
", according to him, he enlisted in the army in 1958, first posted in Germany.
He left for Vietnam, where he was wounded twice, before rising in the military hierarchy becoming military adviser to John F. Kennedy,
reports our correspondent in Washington
,
Guillaume Naudin
.
Once at the head of the army staff, he oversaw Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War in 1991.
His “
painful
”
performance
for the invasion of Iraq, a “
stain
” in his career
When George W. Bush also assumes the presidency, the first African-American appointed secretary of state becomes the advocate for the war in Iraq.
He then presented on February 5, 2003, before the UN Security Council, a long speech on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) allegedly held by Iraq.
The second American intervention will be made possible thanks to this document, which we will learn later that it was riddled with false information.
He later admitted that this "
painful
"
performance
was a "
stain
" on his reputation: "
It is a stain because I am the one who made this presentation on behalf of the United States to the world, and it will always be part of my record.
"
This experience is perhaps the reason why, although committed to the Republican Party, he had always kept his freedom of conscience and speech, being part of the moderates within the Republicans.
Colin Powell did not hesitate to distance himself from his party,
for example in 2008 supporting the candidacy of Democrat Barack Obama
, who would become the first black president of the United States.
In 2020, he announced that he would vote for Joe Biden, denouncing the "
lies
" of Donald Trump, after having already voted
for Hillary Clinton in the previous election
.
"
I would never have used that word for any of the four presidents I worked for: he is lying,
" he said.
(With AFP and Reuters)
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United States
Diplomacy
Iraq