Washington (CNN)Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday that he won't seek re-election to a third term.
"As much as I love this job and will always love this city and its residents, I've decided not to seek re-election," he said in an announcement Tuesday from City Hall. "This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime."
He added, "Now with our three children in college, Amy and I have decided it's time to write another chapter together."
Emanuel said he won't be a lame duck, saying he and his team "have more to do, and from now until then, we'll do everything in our power to get it done."
He also promised a "smooth and positive" transition for his successor, who will be elected by Chicagoans in February 2019.
"It will fill my eyes with tears to leave a job I love, and already my heart is full with gratitude," he said.
Emanuel was elected the Windy City's mayor in February 2011, becoming the city's first Jewish mayor. He was reelected in 2015.
Before he was mayor, Emanuel served as a US congressman representing Illinois' 5th District for three terms and later worked as President Barack Obama's chief of staff for nearly two years.
Obama, who lived in Chicago and was an Illinois senator before becoming president, lauded Emanuel for his "work to improve our schools" by prioritizing universal pre-K, debt-free community college and "record job growth."
"Chicago is better and stronger for his leadership, and I was a better President for his wise counsel at a particularly perilous time for our country," Obama said.
