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Colin Powell, in full Colin Luther Powell, (born April 5, 1937, New York, New York, U.S.), U.S. general and statesman. He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93) and secretary of state (2001–05), the first African American to hold either position.
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell grew up in the Harlem and South Bronx sections of New York City and attended the City College of New York (B.S., 1958), serving in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). He entered the army upon graduation, served in Vietnam in 1962–63 and 1968–69, and then studied at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1972 he took his first political position, as a White House fellow, and soon became an assistant to Frank Carlucci, then deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He held various posts over the next few years, in the Pentagon and elsewhere, and in 1983 became senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. In 1987 he joined the staff of the National Security Council as deputy to Carlucci, then assistant to the president for national security affairs. Late in 1987 Pres. Ronald Reagan appointed Powell to succeed Carlucci. Early in 1989 Powell took over the Army Forces Command.
In April 1989 Powell became a four-star general, and in August Pres. George Bush nominated him chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, he played a leading role in planning the invasion of Panama (1989) and the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations of the Persian Gulf crisis and war (August 1990–March 1991; see Persian Gulf War). He retired from the military in 1993, sparking speculation that he would enter politics. Although he decided not to run for president in 1996, he joined the Republican Party and spoke out on national issues.
In 2001 he was appointed secretary of state by Pres. George W. Bush. Powell unsuccessfully sought broader international support for the Iraq War. His controversial speech before the United Nations (February 2003) was later revealed to be based on faulty intelligence. Considered a political moderate in an administration dominated by hard-liners, Powell saw his influence in the White House wane, and he announced his resignation in 2004, shortly after Bush’s reelection; he was succeeded by Condoleezza Rice in 2005. Powell’s books include the autobiography My American Journey (1995; written with Joseph E. Persico) and It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (2012; written with Tony Koltz).
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African Americans: Political progressIn 1989 Colin Powell, a four-star general in the army, was chosen to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—the country’s highest military post. In 2001 Powell also became the first African American secretary of state. In 2005 he was succeeded as secretary of state by…
Harlem, district of New York City, U.S., occupying a large part of northern Manhattan. Harlem as a neighbourhood has no fixed boundaries; it may generally be said to lie between 155th Street on the north, the East and Harlem rivers on the east, 96th Street (east of Central Park) and…
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), elective military education program hosted by colleges and universities that prepares students to be commissioned as officers in the U.S. armed forces. ROTC programs are offered by the United States Army, Air Force, and Navy (including the Marine Corps). Established in 1916, ROTC was created as…