Gen. Colin Powell
Colin Powell was the first African American appointed as the U.S. Secretary of State and the first, and so far the only, to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Born Colin Luther Powell on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, New York, Powell was the son of Jamaican immigrants Luther and Maud Powell. He was raised in the South Bronx and educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from Morris High School in 1954 without any definite plans for where he wanted to go in life.
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It was at City College of New York, where Powell studied geology, that he found his calling — in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). He soon became commander of his unit. This experience set him on a military career and gave him structure and direction in his life.
Powell in the 1960s served two tours of duty in Vietnam and has been awarded as many 11 military decorations in all. He received an M.B.A. at George Washington University and gained a White House fellowship in 1972, he would then serve four presidents, holding positions in the Defense Department and at the Pentagon, involved in the coordination of military campaigns for three decades that included the bombing of Libya and both Iraq Wars.
He currently serves on the board of Salesforce.com.
