Colin Powell, first Black US state secretary, dies at 84 due to Covid
World | October 18, 2021 20:55 ISTA veteran of the Vietnam War, Powell rose to the rank of four-star general and in 1989 became the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that role he oversaw the U.S. invasion of Panama and later the U.S. invasion of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991.