Day 8,169 for Terry Branstad will gave way on Wednesday to Day 1 for Kim Reynolds.

Branstad will resign as Iowa and the nation’s longest-serving governor and Reynolds will be sworn in as his successor in back-to-back morning ceremonies at the Iowa Capitol, they announced in a press conference Tuesday.

The long-awaited gubernatorial transition occurs two days after Branstad’s confirmation as ambassador to China by the U.S. Senate. In addition to the transfer of gubernatorial power, Branstad will be officially sworn into his diplomatic post.

The formalities will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday when Branstad will submit his resignation before a crowd of family, friends and staffers in the governor’s formal office. He’ll immediately be sworn in as ambassador by 8th Circuit Court Judge Steven Colloton, the highest-ranking federal judge in Iowa.

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Moments after Branstad’s ceremony, Reynolds will take the oath of office as governor in the Capitol rotunda and deliver a speech. She will be sworn in by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady.

Those details emerged Tuesday at a wide-ranging Capitol press conference in which Branstad and Reynolds opened up emotionally and offered new details about the six-month nomination odyssey that concluded with Monday’s vote but offered few additional answers on the outstanding questions surrounding the transition.

When Reynolds, 57, stepped up to the podium, she warned the audience of reporters and gubernatorial staffers that she may not keep her composure. She did, although her eyes got a little misty as she recalled Branstad’s invitation to join the gubernatorial ticket in 2010 and the more than six years they spent together in office.

Branstad, she said, “challenged and inspired me every day” and brought a contagious competitiveness to the work of governing.

“You continue to make us proud, not only from your service and dedication and love for this state, but to continue to take that unselfish service and Iowa’s values to the world by being the ambassador to China is such a great testament to who you and Chris are as people,” Reynolds said.

Related: Watch the Branstad-Reynolds news conference

Branstad and Reynolds were seen as having the most cooperative governor-lieutenant governor relationship in living memory, frequently traveling and appearing together and – according to the governor and aides alike – consulting on major decisions and agenda items.

“We’ve had fun and we’ve worked hard and we’ve made a difference,” Reynolds said.

After her swearing-in on Wednesday, Reynolds will deliver a speech – something like an inaugural address – from the Capitol rotunda. She offered a brief preview on Tuesday, telling reporters it would seek to introduce her to Iowans and describe her “journey” – from county treasurer to lieutenant governor to governor – “and, of course, some forward-looking policy as well.”

Reynolds will spend much of Thursday and Friday on the road, visiting cities across the state to introduce herself as governor. The schedule for that trip has not been released.

On June 2, the Republican Party of Iowa is throwing an “inaugural celebration” for Reynolds in Des Moines.

The administration declined to say whether Reynolds would attempt to appoint a lieutenant governor – an issue that has become the subject of a legal dispute. She also declined to name her senior staff and advisers or say whether she would move to replace department heads or other gubernatorial appointees across state government. Those announcements will be made in coming days, she said.

On Tuesday, Branstad's chief of staff, Michael Bousselot, announced he will leave the governor's office on Wednesday for a job in the private sector.

Reynolds will continue Branstad’s tradition of weekly press conferences and a commitment to visit all 99 counties every year, she said.

“Iowans should know that we’re ready to get to work and we’re ready to continue delivering meaningful results for Iowans,” she said.

Whereas Reynolds was careful in doling out information about her nascent administration, Branstad, 70, approached the news conference – his last as governor after more than two decades of weekly interactions with reporters – with trademark candor.

He told a long story about how the nomination came to be, recalling his conversations with President Donald Trump leading up to the nomination and his adult children’s efforts to convince First Lady Chris Branstad to entertain a move to China.

He was unrestrained in his praise for Reynolds, and offered unambiguous support for her presumed candidacy in 2018 for a full term as governor.

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In his last full day as governor, Branstad said he planned to drive Tuesday “back to where it all started” – that is, the northern Iowa towns of Forest City and Lake Mills. A native of nearby Leland, Branstad was born in Forest City and opened his first law practice in Lake Mills.

On Tuesday, he said, he would visit an elderly aunt and other friends in Lake Mills, drop off gubernatorial and political mementos for the Mansion Museum in Forest City, and stop to see a nearby “freedom rock” that has been painted with his likeness.

In some of his final public comments as governor, Branstad emphasized that his Beijing posting is merely an excursion, from which he’ll eventually return.

“This is just temporary,” he said. “We’re coming back.”

Related:Terry Branstad confirmed as U.S. ambassador to China

He’ll return to Iowa a couple times a year, he said. The family will keep items in storage in Des Moines, and maintain their home at Lake Panorama. The family’s timetable for actually leaving Iowa and arriving in China remains unclear. Terry and Chris Branstad will leave Iowa in the coming days for a lengthy orientation in Washington, D.C., and then head to Beijing from there.

Personal items will be shipped to the ambassador’s residence by boat and by air, he said. His daughter, Allison Costa, her husband and young children will join the Branstads there, with Costa taking a job at the international school in Beijing.

“This is not forever,” Branstad said. “I just want to make the biggest difference I can while I’m there.”