Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell (1937-) is a retired general in the United States Army, who served in military posts including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), and then in civilian posts including Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Ronald Reagan Administration, and U.S. Secretary of State in the first term of the George W. Bush Administration.

Like Dwight D. Eisenhower, he was courted by both political parties as a potential Presidential nominee after his retirement from the military. Like Eisenhower, he identified as a moderate Republican. He was the first African-American to be Chairman and Secretary.

Early life
The son of Jamaican immigrants, he grew up in the South Bronx section New York City, he attended the City College of New York, and joined the school's "Pershing Rifles", its Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) unit. He was an average student, but the military caught his attention. He graduated in 1958 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army.

New York had a distinct cultural effect on him. In his autobiography, he writes of how he applied himself to menial jobs as a high school student, even in the face of racial discrimination, rising by merit. He learned to speak Yiddish.

Army career
He spent 35 years in the U.S. Army, including a number of key politicomilitary posts including aide/executive assistant to senior civilian policymakers, and White House Service.