美国国务院
发言人办公室
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区
2021年10月18日
 
我想谈谈我们今天失去的一位杰出领袖和一位了不起的人，科林·鲍威尔（Colin Powell）。鲍威尔国务卿在国务院（State Department）——在C街这里——以及我国驻全世界各地的使领馆都深受爱戴。他来到国务院之前在美国武装部队（U.S. Armed Forces）有过长期的、杰出的职业生涯。在走进椭圆形办公室（Oval Office）宣誓就任我国首席外交官时，他是鲍威尔将军、前参谋长联席会议主席。从那以后，他就是国务卿先生。
他给予国务院的是他最佳的领导力、他的经验和他的爱国精神。他给予了我们他的正直品格，而国务院也因此而热爱他。鲍威尔国务卿信任这里的专职工作人员；他增强了他们的权能。他确保最深入地了解一个具体国家或议题的主管干事正是向他或总统通报情况的那个人。他告诉他的工作人员不必麻烦准备精美的午餐——汉堡和热狗就很好了。当他上电梯时，会让其他人和他一起乘坐。他从不计较俗礼。
而且他也不过分在乎等级。他希望听到每个人的声音。他走在大楼里的时候会不事先通知地走进一间间办公室，询问人们需要些什么，确保他们知道他依赖于他们。鲍威尔国务卿就是一位众所周知的领袖，而且他知道如何构建一支强大的、团结的团队。他对待别人的方式正是他希望人们相互对待的方式，而且他确保他们知道他一直都鼎力支持他们。
其结果是，他的团队愿意为他穿越屏障。鲍威尔国务卿在美国军队的生涯是传奇性的。他十几岁在纽约市立学院（City College of New York）上学时，就在离他长大的南布朗克斯（South Bronx）不远的地方，加入了预备役军官训练营（ROTC），并在毕业后成为一名陆军军官。他的职业军人生涯长达35年。他从步兵部队起步，两次在越南服役，曾经驻扎在韩国和西德，并指挥了在伊拉克的沙漠风暴行动（Operation Desert Storm）。
他从军队退役时，可以说是最受尊重和爱戴的美国军人。他当时荣获了他的第二枚总统自由勋章（Presidential Medal of Freedom），这次给他授勋的克林顿总统（President Clinton）在授勋仪式上说：
“今天，一个心怀感激的国家见证了一个人的杰出职业生涯的结束，并表彰其35年的奉献和胜利：这是美国军队的胜利，它为年轻的科林·鲍威尔提供了学习、成长和领导的机会；这是军事和政治领导人的胜利，他们基于完全的信任和真诚的尊重持续擢升他担任日益重要的职务；这是他为之奉献的国家的胜利；并且，在更广泛的意义上，这是美国梦这一理念的胜利，因为在我们的国家，人们可以凭借自己的才华、能力、梦想和自律获得提升，不受阻碍。”
在其戎马生涯结束后，科林·鲍威尔本可以享受更安逸的生活，也可以竭尽全力经营他创立的组织“美国承诺”，以帮助像他一样在贫困社区长大的年轻人。相反，他开始了新的外交生涯，而且我深信，鲍威尔国务卿的军人生涯为他成为如此出色的外交官奠定了基础。他知道战争和军事行动永远应当是最后的选择，为此，我们的外交必须尽可能强大和资源充足。他呼吁增加对国务院的拨款，当时——如同现在一样——国务院的预算与五角大楼的预算相比显得微不足道。在他的领导下，国务院实现了信息技术现代化，每张办公桌上都有了一台电脑。他深信美国是一个杰出的国家，我们可以而且应该以自信和谦逊的态度发挥领导作用，每当有美国参与并且其盟友和伙伴相互团结时，世界就会更加安全。
未来的军事领导人和外交官将研究科林·鲍威尔的成就，例如确立了美国何时以及如何使用武力的标准的“鲍威尔原则”、他对“远征外交”的支持、以及通过外交官和军事人员共同努力为高威胁环境带来稳定的做法。他是一个思想家，但并不囿于任何意识形态。他总是在倾听、学习、适应。他勇于承认错误。这只是他品行正直的另一个例子。
你们可能已经看出，我非常崇拜鲍威尔国务卿——我永远都是——我从他那里受益匪浅。在刚刚过去的7月4日独立日，我们共同度过了非常宝贵的几个小时——谈论国务院的情况，探讨我们在世界各地面临的挑战。我得出两点结论：一是鲍威尔国务卿对国际形势的深入了解无与伦比；二是他热爱国务院并希望它蓬勃发展。
因此，对国务院全体员工来说，特别是对曾在鲍威尔国务卿领导下或与他并肩工作的每一个人来说，今天是令人悲伤的一天。我们永远不会忘记这段经历。今天，我们与阿尔玛·鲍威尔（Alma Powell）、鲍威尔国务卿的全体家人以及所有爱他的人共同哀悼他。
科林·鲍威尔将他非凡的一生奉献给了公共服务，因为他对美国怀有坚定的信心，从未动摇。我们对美国的信心在很大程度上源于它哺育了像科林·鲍威尔这样的人。感谢您，国务卿先生。
欲查看原稿内容:  https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-on-the-passing-of-former-secretary-of-state-colin-l-powell/

REMARKS
ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
TREATY ROOM
WASHINGTON, D.C.
OCTOBER 18, 2021
SECRETARY BLINKEN:  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.”
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.
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