Official Secretary of State photo of Gen. Colin Powell, taken during his term in 2001.

Colin Powell, the first Black secretary of state died this morning at Walter Reed Medical Center due to complications from COVID-19, his family said in a statement Monday. He was 84.

Powell served under Republican President George W. Bush, who now resides in Preston Hollow with his wife Laura. The Bushes were among the first public figures this morning to offer their condolences.

“Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell,” Bush, 75, says in a statement. “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.”

The former president points out that Powell twice earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom, adding that the man was “highly respected both at home and abroad.”

“And most important,” notes Bush, “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.”

The Powell family adds that the former secretary was vaccinated against COVID-19. Multiple reports say he also suffered from Parkinson’s disease as well as multiple myeloma.