The first black national adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary to the state in the US Colin Powell, is dead.

A statement by his family said Powell died on Monday at 84 of COVID-19 related complications.

According to his family's statement, Powell had been fully vaccinated and received treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Powell was the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005 under Republican President George Walker Bush.

He was a decorated professional soldier who rose through the ranks to become a General, served his country for 35 years and was also a Vietnam war veteran.

Powell was also the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense from 1989 to 1993.

Former President of the United States George W. Bush has issued a statement in reaction to the fallen soldier's demise.

In his statement, Bush said the death of Colin Powell saddened his family. He also mourned Powell as a great public servant whose counsel he relied on.

Below is his full statement:

"Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell. He was a great public servant, starting with his time as a soldier during Vietnam. Many Presidents relied on General Powell’s counsel and experience. He was National Security Adviser under President Reagan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under my father and President Clinton, and Secretary of State during my Administration. He was such a favorite of Presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice. He was highly respected at home and abroad. And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man."

Powell will be remembered as the General who advocated military intervention as the first solution to an international crisis, and instead usually prescribed diplomacy and containment.