Bill Keller is stepping down as Executive Editor of the New York Times to become a full-time writer for the paper. He will be replaced by Jill Abramson, who has been managing editor since 2003. Abramson will be the first woman to be editor in the paper’s 160-year history.

Dean Baquet, the Washington bureau chief, will become the new managing editor. The Times reports that:

Mr. Keller, who ran the newsroom during eight years of great journalistic distinction but also declining revenue and cutbacks throughout the industry, said that with a formidable combination in place to succeed him, he felt it was a good time to step aside…

As for Mr. Keller’s plans, he said he was still working out the details of a column he will write for the paper’s new Sunday opinion section, which will be introduced later this month. He did rule one project out. “I won’t be writing a book about The New York Times,” he said.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the paper’s publisher, said he accepted Mr. Keller’s resignation “with mixed emotions.”