Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Jessen-Petersen said that he was confident that Kosovo's fate was clear and that its future development into a democratic and multiethnic society was more than ever in the hands of the people and elected political leaders.
The UN envoy thanked political leaders, parties, religious communities and international representatives in the province for cooperation during his term in office, which started in August 2004.
The UN official said that he was leaving his post exclusively for family reasons.
He said that he considered his biggest failure the fact that he could not persuade Kosovo Serbs to participate in the work of local institutions. He assessed that major progress had been made in the province and voiced hope that Kosovo would make its dream a reality.