BIOGRAPHY

Prior to his appointment, Secretary Powell was the chairman of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of young people.

Secretary Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held myriad command and staff positions and rose to the rank of 4-star General. He was Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from December 1987 to January 1989. His last assignment, from October 1, 1989 to September 30, 1993, was as the 12^th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm in the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf war.

Following his retirement, Secretary Powell wrote his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey, which was published in 1995. Additionally, he pursued a career as a public speaker, addressing audiences across the country and abroad.

Secretary Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937 and was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Secretary Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

Secretary Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations.

Secretary Powell’s civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President’s Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country.

Secretary Powell is married to the former Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama. The Powell family includes son Michael; daughters Linda and Anne; daughter-in-law Jane; son-in-law Francis; and grandsons Jeffrey and Bryan.

The days of his secretariat have been fast-paced as the nation experienced both tragedy and triumph. The events of September 11 marked the greatest tragedy on American soil since World War II. But the creation of a global fund to combat HIV/AIDS, the destruction of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the wrecking of al-Qaeda's terrorist network in that country, and the return of a precarious stability and a degree of freedom to the people of Afghanistan are all highpoints of triumph. As Secretary Powell said in remarks [at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner in October] about Afghanistan, "Boys and girls have returned to school. Women who one year ago were virtual prisoners in their homes are pursuing their professions.... For the first time in over two decades, the men and women of Afghanistan look to the future with hope."

Also included in the "triumph" have been the creation of a new strategic relationship with Russia, improved relations with China, and a new and promising opening to Central and South Asia. There is much left to do, not least of which is dealing with Iraq, where a tyrant still torments his own people, the region, and the world, and at the other end of the world, a North Korea bent on possessing weapons nuclear weapons and proliferating them to rogue nations and terrorists.  

In testimony in September, Secretary Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that no matter what methods we advance for dealing with Iraq, we will not be deterred from our main purpose to extend democracy, prosperity, and freedom to all the remaining dark corners of the world. Iraq is just a step in this process--a process, that as President Bush has said, will establish a balance of power that favors freedom across the globe.  Likewise, encouraging the powers in Northeast Asia, those most affected by North Korea's actions, to bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang, is the centerpiece of our diplomacy in that region.