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Colin Powell

US Army general and statesman

Colin Powell was a four-star US Army general who later served as the 65th US Secretary of State. He wrote the book It Worked for Me.

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American Born 1937 in New York City, United States Died 2021

Colin Powell

About Colin Powell

Colin Powell's parents were immigrants from Jamaica. He was born in New York City in 1937 and raised in the South Bronx. He studied geology at the City College of New York, joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps there, and became a second lieutenant in 1958. Powell spent 35 years as a professional soldier and rose to four-star general. He served as national security advisor between 1987 and 1989, then headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff until 1993, a period that included the Gulf War. He later served as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2005. He published his autobiography, My American Journey, in 1995, and followed it in 2012 with It Worked for Me. In retirement he also worked as a public speaker. Powell died in 2021.

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