First black US state secretary Colin Powell dies of Covid-19

NEW YORK – Colin Powell, the first black US secretary of state and top military officer, died on Monday from COVID-19 complications, his family confirmed in a statement.

"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," Powell's family wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

As a four-star Army general, the 84-year-old was Joint Chiefs of Staff of military under President George H W Bush during the 1991 Gulf War in which US-led forces expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Later, Powell, a moderate Republican, had been appointed as secretary of state by President George W Bush.