Powell, Colin (1937–)

Soldier and statesman best known for his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (from 1989 to 1993) and as secretary of state in the first administration of President George W. Bush. Following retirement from the United States Army and prior to his public service, Powell served on the board of America Online. He also founded America's Promise, a nonprofit organization for children, in 1997.

Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in the Bronx, New York, to Luther and Maud Powell, immigrants to the United States from Jamaica. He attended the City College of New York, where he participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and earned a bachelor's degree in geology in 1958. During his military career, Powell also earned a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University.

Military Career

When Second Lieutenant Powell graduated college in 1958, he began a military career that would span 35 years, include two wars, and culminate in his appointment as a four-star general, the highest military rank in the country. As a junior officer, Lieutenant Powell served stateside as well as in Germany and did two one-year tours in Vietnam as a captain and later as a major.

During his first tour in Vietnam, Captain Powell served as an adviser to the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam. Major Powell's second Vietnam tour, as deputy assistant chief of staff of the 23rd Infantry Division, was marred by what some see as an attempt to cover up the My Lai massacre in an investigation of a letter written by a witness to the killings.

Later tours of duty included service as a battalion commander in Korea, study at the prestigious National War College in Washington, DC, and command of the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. As a brigadier general, Powell served as assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division. In 1986, Powell returned to Germany as commander of V Corps, a position he held for only five months.

General Powell returned to Washington in 1987 to serve as national security advisor under President Ronald Reagan. Although he played an instrumental role in the Iran-Contra affair, Powell escaped close scrutiny and was subsequently promoted to four-star general and appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. It was in this post, which he held until his retirement in 1993, that Powell became a household name for his command of the military during 1991's Operation Desert Storm.

In the months leading up to the 1991 invasion of Iraq, Powell gained a reputation as a dovish, even-headed military leader who rarely advocated use of [Page 587]force as the first solution to international conflict. In advocating his so-called Powell Doctrine of diplomacy—sanctions and a steady buildup of forces in Kuwait—Powell found himself in opposition to most officials in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. Once Operation Desert Storm began, however, Powell developed a reputation for fierce loyalty in not attempting to undermine a policy he disagreed with after it was implemented.

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