Nicola Sturgeon has announced she is resigning as Scotland’s first minister after more than eight years in the role.
The Scottish National Party leader said she knew “in my head and my heart” this was the right time to step down.
Ms Sturgeon said she would remain in office until her successor was elected.
She is the longest-serving first minister and the first woman to hold the position.
Ms. Sturgeon insisted her resignation was not in response to the “latest period of pressure”, which has included controversies over gender reforms, trans prisoners, and the strategy for independence.
She acknowledged there had been “choppy waters”, but said her decision had come from “a deeper and longer-term assessment”.
“Since the very first moment in the job, I have believed that part of serving well would be to know, almost instinctively, when the time is right to make way for someone else,” she said.
“And when that time came, to have the courage to do so, even if many across the country, and in my party, might feel it too soon.
“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it is right for me, for my party and for the country.
“And so today I am announcing my intention to step down as first minister and leader of my party.”
She said that support for independence needed to be “solidified” and to grow further.
“To achieve that we need to reach across the divide in Scottish politics, and my judgement now is that this needs a new leader,” she said.
Nominations to elect her successor have now opened. Names to have been suggested as potential candidates include John Swinney, Kate Forbes and Angus Robertson.
SOURCE:BBC NEWS