(AP) Dan Bartlett, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and his longest-serving aide, said Friday he is resigning to begin a career outside of government.

The move was announced on Bartlett's 36th birthday. He has been with Mr. Bush for nearly 14 years, from Mr. Bush's first campaign as governor of Texas, through two races for the White House and more than six years of a presidency marked by costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an ongoing battle against terrorism.

"His contribution has been immeasurable. I value his judgment and I treasure his friendship," Mr. Bush said in a statement. "Since coming to work for me fourteen years ago as I prepared to run for governor, Dan has become a husband and a father. I understand his decision to make his young family his first priority."

As counselor to the president, Bartlett has been at the center of White House decision-making, stepping into the public eye in times of trouble to defend Mr. Bush on everything from the unpopular war in Iraq to the government's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina and the Republicans' loss of Congress.

He is known as someone who has Mr. Bush's ear, one of a few people who can give the president bad news or tease him about wearing a brown suit disliked by the White House staff and nicknamed Big Brown.

"He can talk to the president in a candid way, in sort of a family way, that almost nobody else can," White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten told The Associated Press. "He can talk to him about Big Brown, he can joke with him. He's got the Texas roots that make it possible for them to talk about characters in Texas politics or Longhorn football or Texas Rangers' baseball. He's been a good friend of the president as well as a counselor."

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