WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said he's been pleased with his job, but it's simply time for him to step down.

Powell and three other department chiefs announced their resignations from President George W. Bush's Cabinet on Monday. That brings the number of Cabinet chiefs leaving to six out of a total of 15 in what's shaping up as a major second-term shakeup.

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Powell's Life: A Summary
Background: Abraham | Veneman | Paige
Bush Statements: Ashcroft | Evans
Images: The Bush Cabinet
Interactive: Bush's Agenda For 2nd Term

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Powell said he would stay on until his successor is in place, which will be in a number of weeks or a month or two from now.

Speaking to reporters at the State Department, Powell said he would be working hard until the very, very end. He will go about his usual schedule, which included a meeting Monday with the Israeli Foreign Minister. He also will attend a multinational conference on Iraq next week.

He said he and the president came to a "mutual agreement" that it was time for him to resign. Powell said this was always part of the plan, that he always intended to serve a single term.

In his letter of resignation, Powell said he is "pleased" to be part of the team that fought terrorism and liberated Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Powell Resigns, Thanks Bush For Opportunity

In a letter to Bush dated Friday, Powell said merely that it's time for him to return to private life.

Powell's departure was long expected after four tumultuous years in which he was often at odds with administration hawks. Speculation on a successor has centered on U.N. Ambassador John Danforth and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

For some months, Powell had been noncommittal about his plans for a second Bush term.

The other three whose resignation letters have been released by the White House are those of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

Abraham is widely credited for his work to protect nuclear materials, especially in Russia. He managed to convince the White House to spend more money on atomic security in the former Soviet Union.

But Abraham wasn't as persuasive when it came to the administration's overall energy plan. The proposal from Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force didn't make it through Congress.

On Abraham's watch, gas prices leaped above $2 a gallon and oil topped $50 a barrel. Even so, Abraham resisted calls to use the nation's oil reserves.

Paige was the first black secretary of education. As he leaves office, he's being defined by a single phrase: No Child Left Behind. The sweeping accountability law was the centerpiece of Bush's domestic agenda and was passed and implemented during Paige's tenure. The law attempts to hold schools to specific standards.

Paige drew fire earlier this year when he called the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, "a terrorist organization" because the union had been highly critical of the No Child Left Behind law. He later apologized for the comment.

Meanwhile, Veneman, the nation's first female agriculture secretary, weathered the first case of mad cow disease in the nation's history. The case was reported in December 2003, and since then, Veneman oversaw the implementation of new screening methods to prevent further cases.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans quit soon after the president's re-election. Bush has yet to name a replacement for Evans. Last week, Bush named White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to take Ashcroft's place.

World Leaders Praise Powell

World leaders who have openly disagreed about the Bush administration are nearly unanimous in their praise of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

His British counterpart said Powell was both a great soldier and a great statesman. An official at the United Nations said Powell looked at problems from many sides at once.

Nations that disagreed with the United States on Iraq said they're sorry that Powell is leaving. Germany's defense minister is expressing regret about Powell's resignation but said he respects his decision. In France, the head of one think tank said they always believed that Powell was a moderate and was forced to do things with which he didn't agree.

In the Middle East, one analyst said folks there will always remember that Powell visited Yasser Arafat when he was confined to his compound in Ramallah.

Powell To Be Remembered For 2003 U.N. Appearance

In nearly four years at the State Department, Powell has had to cope with divisions abroad and, apparently, some within the Bush administration.

He reportedly differed with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on some big issues over the past four years.

Back in February 2003, Powell made a forceful presentation to the U.N. Security Council, demanding action against Iraq. He said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, though no evidence has surfaced to back that up.

Powell had a 35-year career as a soldier, rising to the rank of four-star general. His last post, from October 1989 to September 1993, was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that position, he oversaw the U.S. military during the first Gulf War.

He was raised in New York City's South Bronx and later graduated from City College of New York.

Between his military service and time at the State Department, he wrote a best-selling autobiography and led a nonprofit group called America's Promise -- The Alliance for Youth. He was also frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.