I’d like
to say a few words about an extraordinary leader and a great man whom we lost
today,
Colin Powell. Secretary Powell was beloved here at the State Department
-- at C Street -- and at our embassies and consulates around the world. He came
to the State Department after a long and extraordinary career in the U.S. Armed
Forces. He was General Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, when he
walked into the Oval Office to be sworn in as our nation’s top diplomat. After
that, he was Mr. Secretary.
He gave the State Department the very best of his leadership, his experience,
his patriotism. He gave us his decency, and the State Department loved him for
it. Secretary Powell trusted the career workforce here; he empowered them. He
made sure that the desk officer who knew a particular country or issue most
deeply was the one who got to brief him or the president. He told his staff that
they didn’t need to worry about getting fancy lunches -- hamburgers and hot dogs
were just fine. When he hopped onto the elevator, he’d pull others on with him.
He didn’t bother with formalities.
And he wasn’t overly concerned with hierarchy either. He wanted to hear from
everyone. He walked around the building dropping into offices unannounced,
asking what people needed, making sure they knew he was counting on them.
Secretary Powell was simply and completely a leader, and he knew how to build a
strong and united team. He treated people the way he expected them to treat each
other, and he made sure that they knew he would always have their back.
The result was that his people would walk through walls for him. Secretary
Powell’s career in the U.S. military is legendary. As a teenager at the City
College of New York, not far from where he grew up in the South Bronx, he joined
ROTC, and after graduation, became an army officer. For 35 years, he was a
professional soldier. He started in the infantry, served two tours in Vietnam,
was stationed in South Korea and West Germany, and oversaw Operation Desert
Storm in Iraq.
By the time he retired from the military, he was arguably the most respected and
celebrated American in uniform. At that time, he
received his second
Presidential Medal of Freedom, this time from
President Clinton, who said at the medal ceremony:
Today, a grateful nation observes the end of a distinguished career and
celebrates 35 years of service and victory: a victory for the United States
military that gave young Colin Powell a chance to learn and to grow and to
lead; a victory for the military and political leaders who continue to
elevate him based on their complete confidence and sheer respect; a victory
for a nation well served; and, in a larger sense, a victory for the American
dream, for the principle that in our nation, people can rise as far as their
talent, their capacities, their dreams, and their discipline will carry
them.1
After
that career, Colin Powell could have enjoyed a quieter life, maybe dedicating
himself full-time to the organization he founded, America’s
Promise, to help young people from underrepresented communities
like the one where he grew up. Instead, he started a new career in diplomacy,
and I believe Secretary Powell’s years as a soldier are what made him such an
exceptional diplomat. He knew that war and military action should always be a
last resort, and to make that so, we need our diplomacy to be as robust and
well-resourced as possible. He called for increased funding for State, which
then -- as now -- was just a fraction of the Pentagon’s budget. He modernized
the State Department, putting a computer on every desk. And he believed deeply
that America was an exceptional nation, that we could and should lead with
confidence and humility, and that the world was safer when the United States was
engaged and its allies and partners were united.
Future military leaders and diplomats will study Colin Powell’s work, like the
Powell Doctrine that hammered out criteria for when and how the United States
should use force, and his support for expeditionary diplomacy, diplomats and
military working together to bring stability to high-threat environments. He was
a man of ideas, but he wasn’t ideological. He was constantly listening,
learning, adapting. He could admit mistakes. It was just another example of his
integrity.
As is probably evident by now, I was a huge admirer of Secretary Powell’s -- I
always will be -- and he was very generous with me. This past Fourth of July, we
spent a few precious hours together -- talking about the State Department,
discussing all the challenges we’re confronting around the world. Two things
were clear: Secretary Powell’s depth of knowledge about world events was
unmatched, and he loved the State Department and wanted it to thrive.
So today is a sad day for us here at State, especially for all those who worked
for and with Secretary Powell, and we’ll never forget the experience. Our
thoughts are with
Alma Powell and the entire family today, to everyone who loved
him.
Colin Powell dedicated his extraordinary life to public service because he never
stopped believing in America. And we believe in America in no small part because
it helped produce someone like Colin Powell. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
1
These remarks were
delivered at a
retirement ceremony for General Powell
on 30 September 1993. General Powellreceived the Presidential Medal of Freedom during this
ceremony.
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