STORY SOURCE: New York Post

Colin Powell, a retired four-star general and White House national security adviser who served as the nation’s first black secretary of state, died Monday as a result of complications from COVID-19, his family said.

The 84-year-old was fully vaccinated against the virus but had been treated over the past few years for multiple myeloma — a type of blood cancer that can limit the body’s ability to fight infection, according to his longtime aide.

Colin Powell, then-secretary of state, holds up a vial that he said was the size that could be used to hold anthrax as he addresses the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003.

In his four decades of public life, Powell was the first black man to serve as national security adviser near the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. In the latter role, he oversaw the US invasion of Panama and later the US invasion of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991.

“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,” his family said in a statement on Facebook.

“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.”

Powell’s family did not address whether he had any underlying illnesses, but his aide Peggy Cifrino confirmed he had been battling multiple myeloma.

It wasn’t immediately clear what complications he suffered or how long Powell had been in the hospital prior to his death.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Alma Powell, and their three children.