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R. Nicholas Burns, long one of the most high-profile diplomats at the State Department, is resigning and will be replaced by U.S. Ambassador to Russia William Burns, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced today.

As undersecretary of state for political affairs, Burns has dealt with many of the most controversial issues facing the Bush administration, including the current effort to mobilize international support behind a new U.N. resolution on Iran. Burns will leave in March, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked him to stay on after that as a special envoy to deal with India nuclear negotiations, U.S. officials say.

Burns, 51, is leaving for personal reasons, in part because he will soon have three daughters in college, said a senior State Department official. He has not yet committed to another job, U.S. officials say.

"This is a very bittersweet time for us because Nick Burns had decided that it is time for him to retire," Rice told reporters. "He has decided that it's the right moment to go back to family concerns."

A career Foreign Service officer since 1983, he served as U.S. ambassador to Greece and NATO and as State Department spokesman. He has moved to top jobs under both Republicans and Democrats. He worked at the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush and with President Bill Clinton on Russian affairs from 1990 to 1995. Although he is one of Rice's closest advisers, he also was spokesman for two former secretaries of state, Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher.

Burns is widely noted for his love of baseball, and his official biography notes that he is a lifelong member of "Red Sox nation."

William Burns, among America's most low-profile diplomats, is a former assistant secretary of state for the Near East and ambassador to Jordan. The two men are not related. His replacement for the key job as America's top envoy to Russia is not expected to be announced immediately.

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