Nicola Sturgeon (pictured) is stepping down as first minister of Scotland after eight years in the role.
She made the announcement in a news conference at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh, on Wednesday morning. She will remain in office until a successor is identified.
Sturgeon said being first minister of Scotland had been “a privilege beyond measure,” but said the time was right for her to leave the office following “a deeper and longer-term assessment.”
“I have believed that part of serving well would be to know when the time is right to make way for someone else, and when that time came, to have the courage to do so,” Sturgeon said during the news conference.
“In my head and in my heart, I know that time is now. It is right for me, the party, and the country.”
The leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), Sturgeon is departing with no clear successor and with the issue of Scotland’s independence still unresolved.
Nicola Sturgeon is the finest public servant of the devolution age. Her public service, personal resilience and commitment to Scotland is unmatched, and she has served our party unlike anyone else. She will be an enormous loss as First Minister and SNP leader. Thank you! 🏴🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/DyeJU5EkIV
— Stewart McDonald MP (@StewartMcDonald) February 15, 2023
Sturgeon rose to power after a 2014 independence referendum when the country voted (55% to 45%) to remain in the United Kingdom, becoming the face of the Scottish independence movement.
But last November, she suffered a blow when the UK’s top court ruled that the Scottish government could not hold a second referendum without the British parliament’s approval. Sturgeon then said she would use the next UK general election to hold a de-factor referendum.
She also became embroiled in a row over transgender policies after Scotland passed a bill to make it easier for people to change their legal gender.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government said it would block the bill, the first time it had invoked the power to veto a Scottish law, claiming it would have a broader impact on the UK.
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