Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs she is making way for a “new generation” as she made her final Holyrood speech as first minister.
In an emotional statement, the SNP leader urged her successor not to “shy away from the big challenges or difficult debates”.
She was given a standing ovation after telling the chamber being first minister “truly has been the privilege of my lifetime” and thanking Scots for “placing your trust in me”.
‘Right time’ to go
Ms Sturgeon – Scotland’s first female first minister and also the longest serving incumbent in the post – described the job as “challenging, exhilarating and exhausting”.
But after 35 years in politics, including 24 as an MSP and 16 in the Scottish Government, she said it is the “right time” for to step aside.
A new SNP leader and first minister will be appointed next week.
Ms Sturgeon told her three would-be successors: “Never forget that every day in this office is an opportunity to make something better for someone, somewhere in Scotland.
“Do not shy away from the big challenges or difficult debates.
“You won’t get everything right.
“But it is always better to aim high and fall short than not try at all.”
Pandemic ‘changed’ Nicola Sturgeon
Three years to the day from the start of the first coronavirus lockdown, Ms Sturgeon described how leading Scotland through the pandemic “changed” her.
She said: “In the toughest of times, our country showed the best of itself with love, care and solidarity.
“That will live with me forever.”
She told MSPs: “I have made my fair share of mistakes in the last eight years. And, of course, there are things I wish I had done better or differently.
“But overall and overwhelmingly, I am proud of what has been achieved.”
A fiery final FMQs
Ms Sturgeon earlier clashed with Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross during a fiery final exchange at first minister’s questions.
The presiding officer had to intervene several times to appeal for calm amid howls from the backbenches.
Mr Ross used the session to raise the row over the SNP’s membership numbers, which saw Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell quit as the party’s chief executive.
He said it is “absolutely clear” the SNP lied to the press and the public, and declared: “Nicola Sturgeon is treating the public like idiots.”
This prompted Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone to intervene and remind him of the rules around using “particular language” in the chamber.
‘SNP house is collapsing’
Ms Sturgeon responded by referring to Boris Johnson’s appearance on Wednesday at a Westminster select committee investigating the partygate affair.
She said: “I don’t think the Conservatives, given yesterday’s events in the House of Commons, should be lecturing anyone on honesty and integrity.”
Mr Ross said the “house that Sturgeon, Salmond and Murrell built is collapsing”.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for a Holyrood election after Ms Sturgeon’s successor takes office.
The SNP leadership race will come to an end on Monday, with the new first minister officially elected on Tuesday and sworn in at the Court of Session the following day.
All three candidates say they do not favour an immediate election, despite their party calling for a general election during the Conservative leadership turmoil last year.
Emotional farewell
The last Holyrood poll in 2021, Mr Sarwar said, “was a pandemic election” in which the first minister pledged to shepherd the country out of Covid-19.
Responding, Ms Sturgeon said: “I fought three general elections as SNP leader and the SNP has won all of them, and at every one we’ve heard the same messages from Labour – and at every single one the people of Scotland have cast their verdict.”
In her final words from the frontbench, Ms Sturgeon said she would struggle to say much more “without crying”.
“You will of course see me very soon on a backbench near here, but in the meantime, for the final time from me as first minister, to the people of Scotland: Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for the privilege of being your first minister”, she concluded.