Colin Kodesperan Powell (dibaca Ko-lin, lahir di New York City, New York, U.S.A., 5 April 1937; umur 79 tahun) adalah Menteri Luar Negeri AS ke-65 yang dilantik pada 20 Januari 2001. Dia dinominasikan oleh George W. Bush pada 16 Desember 2000 dan dipilih secara mutlak oleh Senat AS. Pengunduran dirinya diterima Presiden pada 12 November 2004 (sebelum dimulainya masa bakti Bush yang kedua), namun Powell masih terus menjabat hingga penggantinya, Condoleezza Rice ditetapkan oleh Senat AS pada 26 Januari 2005. Powell juga pernah menjabat sebagai Penasehat Keamanan Nasional AS (1987-89) dan Ketua Umum Pemimpin Staf AS (1989-93).Powell dilahirkan di New York City dan dibesarkan di South Bronx. Orang tuanya, Luther Theophilus dan Maud Ariel Powell, beremigrasi ke AS dari Jamaika. Powell belajar di sekolah negeri New York City, lulus dari City College of New York (CCNY), di mana dia mendapatkan gelar sarjana muda dalam bidang geologi. Dia juga berpartisipasi dalam ROTC di CCNY dan memperoleh pangkat letnan dua Angkatan Darat AS setelah lulus pada Juni 1958. Pencapaian akademisnya yang lain termasuk gelar MBA dari Universitas George Washington.
Powell menikah dengan Alma Vivian Johnson Powell yang berasal dari Birmingham, Alabama. Dia mempunyai seorang putra, Michael (yang pernah menjadi ketua umum Komisi Komunikasi Federal); putri-putri Linda dan Anne; menantu Jane; dan cucu Jeffrey dan Bryan. Panggilan akrab Presiden George W. Bush untuk Powell adalah Pup Pup. Powell terkenal sebagai orang yang mendorong terjadinya serangan AS ke Irak pada 2003 setelah menunjukkan "bukti" adanya senjata pemusnah massal di Irak dalam sebuah Sidang Umum PBB yang ternyata sama sekali tidak ada.
Colin Luther Powell (/ˈkoʊlᵻn/; born April 5, 1937) is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under U.S. President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, the first African American to serve in that position. During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Persian Gulf War. Born in Harlem as the son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell was the first, and so far the only, African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the first of two consecutive black office-holders to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.
In a July 2009 CNN interview with John King, Powell expressed concern over President Obama growing the size of the federal government and the size of the federal budget deficit.[91] In September 2010, he criticized the Obama administration for not focusing "like a razor blade" on the economy and job creation. Powell reiterated that Obama was a "transformational figure." In a video that aired on CNN.com in November 2011, Colin Powell said in reference to Barack Obama, "many of his decisions have been quite sound. The financial system was put back on a stable basis." On October 25, 2012, 12 days before the presidential election, he gave his endorsement to President Obama for re-election during a broadcast of CBS This Morning. He cited success and forward progress in foreign and domestic policy arenas under the Obama Administration, and made the following statement: "I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I'll be voting for he [sic] and for Vice President Joe Biden next month."
As additional reason for his endorsement, Powell cited the changing positions and perceived lack of thoughtfulness of Mitt Romney on foreign affairs, and a concern for the validity of Romney's economic plans. In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos during ABC's coverage of President Obama's second inauguration, Powell criticized members of the Republican Party who "demonize[d] the president." He called on GOP leaders to publicly denounce such talk.
