WASHINGTON – CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair, ending a storied 37-year career in which he rose through the Army to become the top U.S. commander in Iraq and Afghanistan before taking over as head of the nation’s premier spy agency.

Petraeus’ resignation was announced by Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, who oversees the country’s 16 intelligence agencies, and came only three days after President Barack Obama won re-election.

Shortly after Clapper made his announcement, the CIA released a copy of a message that Petreaus sent to the agency workforce in which Petraeus said he’d submitted his resignation to Obama on Thursday, and that it was accepted on Friday.

“After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation,” Petraeus said.