MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colin Powell resigns.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has submitted his resignation to President Bush, the White House said on Monday.

Powell is the most prominent of four Cabinet officials whose resignations will be announced Monday.

The others will be Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, the sources said.

Powell told his senior staff that he planned to stays on until a replacement was confirmed, State Department officials said.

State Department officials told that Bush and Powell decided mutually that it was time for him to go.

The officials said that Powell plans to keep working on a number of key issues, including North Korean nuclear talks, the Iraqi elections scheduled for January and Middle East peace process.

Powell was scheduled to travel to Egypt next week for a conference on Iraq.

A senior official said Monday that the State Department was trying to arrange a meeting between Powell and the new Palestinian leadership, but added the details have not been worked out. A date and place have not been set, the official said.

The official made the comment after Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told reporters in Gaza City that Powell was expected to meet with the leadership next week in the West Bank.

Rumors have swirled about Powell's role in a second Bush administration, but neither the president nor the secretary had spoken publicly about his future.

Last week, when asked if he wanted Powell to stay on to oversee the Mideast peace process Bush told reporters: "I'm proud of my secretary of state. He's done a heck of a good job."

Powell told reporters that he had had several conversations with the president, but would not comment on what they said.