Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline announced that he will retire from Congress effective June 1 to become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.

Cicilline has served in the US House of Representatives since 2010. Prior to that, he was a member of Rhode Island's legislature and the first openly Gay mayor of Providence for two terms.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the state's largest nonprofit, helping to fund dozens of smaller nonprofit social service organizations.

"Serving the people of Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District has been the honor of my lifetime," Cicilline said in a statement.

"As president and CEO of one of the largest and oldest community foundations in the nation, I look forward to expanding on the work I have led for nearly thirty years in helping to improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders."

The foundation's longtime CEO, Neil Steinberg, announced his intention to retire last year. Steinberg made the job one of the most influential positions in Rhode Island's civic life. He congratulated Cicilline in a statement:

"I am thrilled with the choice of Rep. Cicilline as the next president and CEO of the foundation, having seen firsthand — over many years — his commitment to a better Rhode Island. He has the experience, the skills, the passion, and the network to ably lead the foundation."

Cicilline did not say why he decided to leave Congress, but Steinberg earned over $1 million as foundation CEO last year.

As mayor of Providence, Cicilline succeeded the notoriously corrupt Buddy Cianci, after the brief tenure of Acting Mayor John Lombardi, who took over when Cianci went to prison.

While he restored public confidence in the city administration, Cicilline still had to grapple with its financial problems. His first term in Congress was troubled by accusations of mismanagement in his previous terms as mayor, as Providence slid into financial crisis after his departure.

In Congress, Cicilline was often described as a "rising star." He ended up as chair of the Democrats' Policy and Communications Committee, after an unsuccessful run for assistant Democratic leader.

Cicilline's first run for Congress was challenging, but in subsequent elections, he outpolled his opponents by 40 or more percentage points. His unexpected departure from Congress leaves an opening for other Rhode Island politicians, and, predictably, there are at least five prominent contenders for the seat.

"I expect a very crowded Democratic primary field," said TV political analyst Joe Fleming. "It's not very often in Rhode Island a congressional seat opens up, and I think a lot of Democrats are going to really take a strong look at this and decide if it's feasible for them to run.

"It's going to be a special election and special Democratic primary, so it's going to be about name recognition and raising a lot of money to get the voters out," he added.

Cicilline's seat is in a reliably Democratic district, so the outcome will not change the balance of power in the US House.