Alex Salmond has announced he will step down as First Minister and leader of the SNP.
After the referendum defeat, Mr Salmond said it was time for a new leader who could now take the devolution process forward.
Looking emotional as he made the announcement at Bute House in Edinburgh, the Aberdeenshire East MSP said: “For me as leader, my time is nearly over, but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream shall never die.”
Mr Salmond said he believed party, parliament and country would “benefit from new leadership”, but refused to comment on who his successor may be.
He told the press that 1.6million votes for independence was a “remarkable political development” and that those that supported his campaign would not slip into the shadows to wait for Westminster to deliver on their promises.
However, he said he had told the National Secretary of the SNP that he would not accept nomination to be candidate for leader at the annual party conference in November.
He added: “Until then I will continue to serve as First Minister. After that I will continue to offer to serve as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeenshire East.
“It has been the privilege of my life to serve Scotland as First Minister. But as I said often during the referendum campaign this is not about me or the SNP. It is much more important than that.
“The position is this. We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly, Scotland can still emerge as the real winner.”
He added if there were any mistakes in the Yes campaign, they lay with him alone.
“This campaign went a long way in a very reasonable short space of time in the last few months to deliver on that vision for Scotland,” he said.
“Any mistakes that were made were mine and mine alone.”