Colin Powell Biography

Fast Facts

• Has been the first African American to serve in every position he has held since becoming the National Security Advisor
• Opened the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at the City College of New York to aid high-achieving students and served as the Chairman of America's Promise: the Alliance for Youth
• Was awarded the Soldier's Medal in 1969 after saving his comrades from a burning helicopter in Vietnam
• Was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star in 1963 after being wounded by a booby trap on the border between Vietnam and Laos
• Graduated from the City College of New York with a degree in geology in 1958 and later earned his master's in business from George Washington University
• First worked at the White House when he received a fellowship and was assigned to the Office of Management and Budget under President Nixon
• Started out as a second lieutenant in the Army and was sent to South Vietnam during the Kennedy administration in 1962
• Was a member of his college's ROTC program, where he was commander of his drill team and graduated at the top of his class with the rank of cadet colonel
• Best known as a retired military general and as the former Secretary of State who served under President George W․ Bush
• Became the National Security Advisor in 1987 under President Reagan after becoming a Lieutenant General
• Was appointed Secretary of State by President George W․ Bush in 2001, which was the highest rank held by an African American in the U․S․ government at the time