Zoellick Leaving State Department, to Join Goldman

June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Zoellick resigned as deputy U.S. secretary of state and said he will take a job with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., the world's biggest securities firm by market value.

``It is not without considerable sadness that I announce that Bob Zoellick will be leaving the department in the coming weeks,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today with Zoellick by her side at the State Department in Washington.

Zoellick, 52, has been a pivotal part of the administration, first as U.S. trade representative in Bush's first term and more recently as a top diplomat guiding U.S. policy toward China and in trouble spots such as Sudan.

His departure deprives the administration of a key policy maker on China, one of the U.S.'s most important relationships. Rice almost entirely handed the China portfolio to Zoellick, who coordinated a strategic dialogue designed to strengthen relations between the two nations.