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9 things to know about Colin Powell

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died from coronavirus complications, his family announced Monday. He was 84.

Here are nine things to know about him, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian.

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1. Powell was raised in the South Bronx. He was the son of Jamaican immigrants.

2. He attended City College of New York, and it was there that he began his military service, joining the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

READ: Colin Powell dies from COVID-19 complications

3. During his 35 years in the Army, he served two tours in Vietnam, was stationed in West Germany and South Korea, and acted as President Ronald Reagan’s Deputy National Security Advisor in 1987 then National Security Advisor from 1988 until 1989.

4. He was the youngest person and first African-American to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

READ: Politicians, military members remember Colin Powell

5. In 1994, he negotiated with Haitian military leaders for the peaceful return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ending the need for a US invasion of the country.

6. Powell retired in 1993 and founded America’s Promise, an organization to help at-risk children.

7. Seven years after retirement, he was nominated as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.

READ: Gen. Colin Powell: 6 things to know

8. In 2001, he was sworn in as the 65th secretary of state of the United States, making him the first African-American secretary of state.

9. Powell ended his role as Secretary of State on Nov. 15, 2004.

Photos: Gen. Colin Powell through the years

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Katlyn Brieskorn, WFTV.com

Katlyn Brieskorn is a Digital Assignment Editor at WFTV. She joined Channel 9 in July 2019.