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Colin Powell, the first black US secretary of state and top military officer, died on Monday at the age of 84 due to complications from Covid-19. He was fully vaccinated, his family said in a statement on Facebook. "We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," his family said, offering thanks to the staff of the hospital near Washington, DC who treated Powell but providing few details about his illness. Powell was one of America's most prominent black figures for decades. He served three Republican presidents in senior posts and reached the top of the US military as it was regaining its vigour after the trauma of the Vietnam War. In a brief statement, the Powell family said he had died on Monday morning from Covid-19, had been fully vaccinated against the disease, and it thanked the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center near Washington. It did not address such matters as what vaccine he received or whether he had gotten a booster shot, when he fell ill, when he may have been admitted to hospital and whether he may have had underlying health conditions that contributed to his illness. Condolences poured in, including from former US president George W Bush. "Many presidents relied on General Powell's counsel and experience," Bush wrote in a statement. "He was such a favorite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice." Powell served as US national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. As a four-star Army general, he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George HW Bush during the 1991 Gulf War in which US-led forces expelled Iraqi troops from neighboring Kuwait. (Reuters)