Washington: Former US Secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, was a true leader who was full of ideas but was not ideological, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
“Secretary Powell was simply and completely a leader, and he knew how to build a strong and united team,” Blinken said in a statement. “He was a man of ideas, but he wasn’t ideological,” Blinken added that Powell believed the United States is an exceptional nation and was the most respected and celebrated American in uniform.
Powell died on Monday at the age of 84 from coronavirus-related complications, his family said in a statement. He was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Powell became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989 and served in that position for four years. In 2001, former US President George W. Bush tapped Powell to serve as secretary of state. Powell accepted the offer and left the post in 2005. Powell supported current President Joe Biden during his 2020 presidential campaign.
Also read: Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, dies due to Covid complications at 84