Story highlights Only 11 days remain in Kerry's tenure as Secretary of State

Kerry said the anti-gay discrimination dated back to the 1940's

(CNN) The State Department on Monday formally apologized for what it describes as decades of discrimination against LGBT employees and job applicants, a rare statement meant to right wrongs that preceded current Secretary of State John Kerry.

"These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today," Kerry said in a statement issued by the department in his name. "On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past."

While lauding what his State Department had done for its employees and around the globe, Kerry said the discriminatory practices had included requiring some LGBT employees to resign or not to hire job applicants because of their sexual orientation.

Kerry said the discrimination dated back to the 1940s, although he noted that the department was "among many public and private employers" that acted similarly.

Only 11 days remain in Kerry's tenure as Secretary of State. He has spent his final weeks primarily mired in crossfire over a United Nations resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction, a policy fight Kerry sought to reframe in a high-profile speech.

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