WASHINGTON —  The White House announced Monday that Secretary of State Colin Powell (search) submitted his letter of resignation to President Bush. Following is the text of the letter:

Dated: Nov. 12, 2004

Dear Mr. President:

As we have discussed in recent months, I believe that now that the election is over the time has come for me to step down as Secretary of State and return to private life. I, therefore, resign as the 65th Secretary of State, effective at your pleasure.

Mr. President, I thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you and the American people for the past almost four years. I am pleased to have been part of a team that launched the Global War Against Terror, liberated the Afghan and Iraqi people, brought the attention of the world to the problem of proliferation, reaffirmed our alliances, adjusted to the Post-Cold War World and undertook major initiatives to deal with the problem of poverty and disease in the developing world. In these and in so many other areas, your leadership was the driving force of our success.

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I am especially honored to have led the dedicated men and women of the Department of State. They nobly serve the American people and the cause of freedom around the world everyday.

I thank you and Laura for all the kindness and friendship you have extended to Alma and me.

Finally, I wish you all continued success as you lead our beloved nation.

Very respectfully,

(his signature)

Colin L. Powell