COLIN POWELL, a dove in a US war Cabinet filled with hawks, resigned yesterday as President Bush’s Secretary of State.

General Powell’s departure brings to an end a bruising four years as America’s top diplomat, in which he has clashed fiercely with Vice-President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, over US foreign policy — battles he has usually lost.

General Powell, 67, had made it clear in recent months that he was exhausted by the constant war of attrition with Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld, and his waning influence at home and abroad.

Since the September 11 terror attacks the Administration’s two other heavyweights have largely prevailed in their desire to pursue an aggressive US foreign policy no longer reliant on traditional alliances — an ideological battle with General Powell that caused a bitter internal feud during Mr Bush’s first term.

General Powell’s departure comes at a moment of multiple foreign policy challenges for the White House, with Iraqi elections scheduled for January, a fresh commitment to achieve Middle East peace after Yassir Arafat’s death, and the threats of a nuclear-armed North Korea and Iran. It robs Mr Bush of the senior official in his Administration who is most respected abroad.

With renewed opportunities in the Middle East, there had been speculation that General Powell, long expected to quit, would be reluctant to leave when he had the prospect of playing a key role in a possible deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But General Powell told reporters he had been talking to Mr Bush about his departure for “weeks and months” before the two reached a “mutual agreement” that it was time for him to move on. It is understood that General Powell asked to stay on for several months, but Mr Bush declined.

He offered no hint of rancour, insisting: “It has always been my intention to serve one term.” He will stay on until his replacement is installed and will attend an imminent Middle East summit in Egypt. Aides said that he delivered his resignation letter to Mr Bush on Friday. The White House is expected to nominate a replacement this week.

General Powell, the first black Secretary of State and a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the only senior Cabinet member trying to slow the rush to war last year.

He argued against invading Iraq without the UN’s blessing. He resisted Mr Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive attack so forcefully articulated by the Administration’s hardliners. He also lost out over the tough approach to North Korea and Iran, arguing in vain that direct diplomacy was the best way to halt their nuclear ambitions.

General Powell said yesterday that all careers have “high points and low points”, and for him the past four years had seen significantly more of the latter. Most notable was his address to the UN General Assembly in February last year when he was obliged to lay out the Administration’s case for war. He staked his reputation on his claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction — weapons that have never been found.

His resignation is the latest twist in a career that has made him one of America’s most popular politicians. As recently as 1995, as a hero of the Gulf War, he was seriously considering the presidency, but his wife, Alma, vetoed the idea.

A Vietnam veteran who served 35 years in the army, General Powell became a four-star general. He was President Reagan’s National Security Adviser from 1987 to 1989, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country’s top military position, under the first President Bush and President Clinton.

General Powell was one of four Cabinet members whose resignations were announced yesterday. The others were Rod Paige, the Education Secretary, Ann Veneman, the Agriculture Secretary, and Spencer Abraham, the Energy Secretary.

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