Today, we mourn the loss of General Colin L. Powell. His long and historic public service career included serving as US national security advisor (1987-1989), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005). Powell served in the US Army for 35 years and rose to the rank of four-star general.
In 2001, General Powell became the first African American to serve as secretary of state and, at the time, was the highest-ranking African American in the history of the federal executive branch. During his term as secretary of state, General Powell sought to reaffirm diplomatic alliances and initiate reforms at the Department of State through increased resources for personnel, IT, security, and facilities. However, the challenges and military action following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks came to dominate his time as secretary of state. Beyond the challenges General Powell faced in the Middle East, he advocated for the George W. Bush Administration to increase its commitment to fight AIDS, oversaw a doubling of development assistance funding, pressed for international cooperation to halt North Korean and Iranian nuclear weapons programs, and responded to multiple international crises.
General Powell was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD). His term as secretary of state overlapped with the Diplomacy Center Foundation’s (DCF) early efforts to develop the Museum. General Powell was instrumental in maintaining State Department support for the project, which had been established by his predecessor, Madeleine K. Albright. After stepping down as secretary of state in 2005, General Powell joined the DCF’s Honorary Board of Directors. In the private sector, he continued to work with America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to helping create the conditions for success for all young people, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York.
“The US and the world have lost a statesman and leader gifted in strategic outlook and tactical agility. His military knowledge and background made him a better secretary of state by understanding where war was appropriate in the country’s defense and where diplomacy should prevail,” says DCF Board Chairman Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering.
“Colin Powell was a dedicated public servant whose service to our country will be long remembered and admired,” says DCF President Ambassador Roman Popadiuk. “His leadership, counsel, and humor serve as an inspiration to future generations. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Alma and the entire Powell family.”
Image: General Colin Powell speaking at the opening of the National Museum of American Diplomacy pavilion, 2017.
Biographical details courtesy of the US Department of State’s Office of the Historian. Read more