Nicola Sturgeon has resigned as First Minister after more than eight years in the role.
She said: “These jobs are a privilege but they are also – rightly – hard. And, it is only possible to give absolutely everything to a job of this nature for so long.
“Given the nature and scale of the challenges the country faces, I feel that duty, first and foremost, to our country – to ensure that it does have the energy of leadership it needs, not just today, but through the years that remain of this parliamentary term.”
Sturgeon, who has been First Minister since November 2014, has appeared at the SGF’s annual conference many times.
She will remain in office until her successor is in place.
