Nicola Sturgeon stunned the political world today by announcing her intention to stand down as First Minister and leader of the SNP.
Speaking at a hastily-arranged press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh, she said she would remain as an MSP until at least the next Holyrood election.
Speculation is already mounting over who in the SNP can replace Sturgeon as leader at a critical juncture for the party.
Here are five key talking points from the most dramatic press conference in Scottish politics for several years.
When will she stand down?
Sturgeon will formally quit her role as SNP leader, and by extension First Minister, whenever the party completes an internal election. There is no time frame yet for how long this could take, but it's likely to be months.
She said: "I have asked the National Secretary of the SNP to begin the process of electing a new party leader, and I will remain in office until my successor is in place. I know there will be some across the country who feel upset by this decision, and by the fact I am taking it now.
"Of course, for balance, there will others who will - how should I put this - cope with the news just fine!"
Why is she quitting?
Sturgeon mentioned the long time she has served in frontline politics - she was elected an MSP in 1999 and became First Minister in 2014.
She said: "Giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. The country deserves nothing less.
"But in truth that can only be done, by anyone, for so long. For me, it is now in danger of becoming too long."
She added: "I’m a human being, and every human being every day wrestles with a whole load of conflicting emotions. And over the last number of weeks, probably since around the turn of the year, I’ve been struggling with just that."
She suggested she could have gone on for "maybe" a year, but said: "I know that as time passed I would have less and less energy to give to the job. And I can’t do the job on anything other than a 100 per cent basis."
Does she have any regrets?
Sturgeon conceded she will have regrets over some of her moments as First Minister, but insisted she was also proud of her time in the role.
She was asked if she had regrets about the situation in the NHS, the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils, and the polls on independence.
She said: "I’m a human being. I don’t know if you’ve got regrets about things in your life? Of course I have got regrets about all sorts of things in my life. And as I reflect on my time as First Minister there will be things I am hugely proud of, and things that I regret, and if I had my time again I might do differently.”
She added: "I’m proud of my time as First Minister. But I’m also proud that I know when it’s time to move on and to pass on to someone else."
Will she quit politics completely?
Sturgeon confirmed she will remain an MSP “until, certainly, the next election”.
She said: “Yes, I do intend to remain in Parliament, I hope to stay in Parliament until… I intend to stay in Parliament until, certainly, the next election and you know, like all MSPs take a decision about beyond that nearer the time of the next election.”
Sturgeon then thanked her constituents in Glasgow Southside for supporting her “through thick and thin”, adding: “I look forward to continuing to serve my constituency to the best of my ability.”
On the kind of issues she wants to be “a voice on”, she said she will be the “strongest most strenuous advocate” for the reforms to the criminal justice system around improving access to justice for victims of sexual offences.
Who is she backing to replace her as SNP leader?
On this subject, Sturgeon remained tight-lipped and refused to say.
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