Nicola Sturgeon will leave the Scottish Parliament at the election next year.
The former first minister and SNP leader confirmed the decision on Wednesday in a letter to her local party members.
“I have known in my heart for a while that the time is right for me to embrace different opportunities in a new chapter of my life, and to allow you to select a new standard bearer,” she said.
Ms Sturgeon was the longest serving first minister, holding the top job since taking over from Alex Salmond following the loss of the independence referendum in 2014.
She quit as first minister in early 2023.
Within months, her husband – and former SNP chief executive – Peter Murrell was arrested in relation to a police probe into the SNP’s finances. He was later re-arrested and charged in connection with the alleged embezzlement of party funds.
Ms Sturgeon was arrested months later in relation to the same probe, as was former party treasurer Colin Beattie.
They were both released without charge pending further inquiries.
Earlier this year, Ms Sturgeon announced she and Mr Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage.
The former SNP leader will release a book about her life and political career this summer.
‘Contribution’
First Minister John Swinney said: “She’s made an extraordinary contribution to the work of the Scottish Parliament, and particularly to the Scottish Government, as our longest serving first minister.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Whilst I have many disagreements with her, I never doubted her passion for Glasgow and Scotland. I wish her well for the future.”
Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachel Hamilton said it is a record of “failure”.
“Scottish education standards collapsed on her watch and the poverty-related attainment gap, which she promised to eradicate, widened,” she added. ab
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “For so many people across Scotland, it feels like nothing works anymore. Next year, they will have a chance to draw a line under SNP division and neglect.”
Lorna Slater, a Scottish Green MSP who served as a junior minister in the Scottish government under Ms Sturgeon, said her time leading Scotland is “certainly one that she can be proud of”.
Conversation