Tributes are being paid to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has died of Covid-19 complications aged 84.

Powell became the first African-American secretary of state in 2001 under Republican President George W Bush.

George W Bush was among the first to pay tribute to "a great public servant" as well as "a family man and a friend" who "was such a favourite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom - twice".

Mr Bush's vice-president Dick Cheney saluted Powell as "a man who loved his country and served her long and well" while also being "a trailblazer and role model for so many".

Condoleezza Rice, Powell's successor as secretary of state and the first black woman in the role, called him "a truly great man" whose "devotion to our nation was not limited to the many great things he did while in uniform or during his time spent in Washington".

Current secretary of state Antony Blinken called Powell's life "a victory of the American Dream".

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair - who worked closely with Powell during the early years of the Iraq War - said he was someone of "immense capability and integrity" who was "a great companion, with a lovely and self-deprecating sense of humour".

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, the first black man to serve in that role, hailed Powell as "a tremendous personal friend and mentor" who would be "impossible to replace".

A sharp critic of Republican president Donald Trump, Powell said he could no longer call himself a Republican after the violent 6 January riot at the US Capitol.

Ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell dies aged 84?

The ex-US secretary of state, the first African-American in that role, dies of Covid complications?

Colin Powell: Vietnam vet to secretary of state?

1Ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell dies aged 84