Chicago, Ill. — Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that being appointed U.S. secretary of agriculture is a tribute to Iowans who have worked with him through 20 years of public life.

"I hope all the people who have spent blood and tears in my time in public life see this as I do, as an acknowledgment of teamwork," Vilsack told The Des Moines Register.

The interview occurred before he boarded a 6 a.m. flight to Chicago on Wednesday to join President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference.

"I've worked hard in my life, and I want an opportunity to contribute to my nation," he said.

Vilsack left the governor's office last year after two terms. He previously said he had no interest in running for Congress and preferred the role of an executive.

The Iowa Democrat, who briefly waged a bid for the 2008 presidential nomination, is now in line to oversee one of the federal government's most sweeping agencies.

"I'm humbled and honored," Vilsack said.

His Blackberry was crackling with e-mail and phone congratulations from longtime supporters in Iowa and prominent national figures.

"We'll be working together after all," Hillary Clinton wrote in a note to Vilsack.

Vilsack had campaigned aggressively for the New York senator's presidential campaign after he ended his own White House bid. Clinton, Obama's choice to be secretary of state, told Vilsack in the note that she had kept her fingers crossed for him and "pressed your case."

During a taxi ride from O'Hare airport to the Drake Hotel in Chicago, Vilsack received calls from Lou Sussman, a top Democratic financial contributor to Obama who had also helped Vilsack during his campaign, and Chris Petersen, president of the Iowa Farmers Union.

"I won't forget all you've done," he told Petersen.

There was no fanfare to greet Vilsack at the hotel, and he entered the building alone. But his arrival marked a milestone for the 58-year-old lawyer.

A Pittsburgh native, adopted as an orphan into an abusive household, entered politics as Mount Pleasant mayor in 1986. After two terms in the Iowa Senate, he ran for governor in 1998. He became the first Democrat elected in 40 years after overcoming a 26-point gap in the polls.

His journey on Wednesday came after a bit of a roller coaster ride, as well.

Despite having campaigned aggressively for Clinton during the primaries and caucuses, Vilsack had been considered a top choice for agriculture secretary by natural resources and farm groups.

He had been recommended by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

However, Vilsack said publicly last month that he understood from his communication with Obama's transition team that he would not be Obama's choice.

To his surprise, he was notified on Dec. 11 that Obama wanted to meet with him at the presidential transition headquarters in Chicago. After a 45-minute meeting there on Friday, Vilsack was offered the job.

Obama dismissed the disconnect during a press briefing in Chicago Wednesday.

"Well, I don't know who led him to believe that. Whoever did, obviously, was misinformed, because here he stands," Obama said.

Vilsack has been a lawyer in Des Moines since leaving the Iowa Capitol. He has also taught law at Drake University and just finished a semester teaching at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

The new assignment, which pays $191,000 a year, will mean a financial sacrifice, he said.

And there is the consideration of how to make it work with his wife Christie's new career. She is the executive director for Iowa Initiative, an advocacy group focused on preventing unwanted pregnancies.

But the two are looking forward to attending the Obama inaugural in Washington, D.C., next month, he said.

In fact, Vilsack waited until he arrived back in Des Moines last week before he told Christie he had been chosen by Obama.

Keeping the news to himself was worth the wait, he said.

"I just wanted to see her expression," Vilsack said.