Colin Luther Powell

Colin Luther Powell was born in Harlem, New York City, to Jamaican immigrant parents and raised in the South Bronx. Graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY) through the Army ROTC program in 1958, Powell served two tours in the Vietnam War as an infantry officer, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Powell rose rapidly through the military, becoming President Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor in 1987. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making Powell the youngest officer and first Black general to hold the nation's highest military post. He formulated the "Powell Doctrine"—advocating decisive overwhelming force, clear political objectives, and an exit strategy—supervising the US military triumph in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Powell the 65th US Secretary of State. His February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction proved flawed, which he later candidly acknowledged as a permanent blot on his record. A two-time recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Powell was revered for his integrity and bipartisan leadership.