Humza Yousaf is to stand down Scotland’s first minister once a successor is found.
He said he had made the decision after spending the weekend reflecting on what was best for the SNP, the government and the country.
Mr Yousaf said he had concluded that someone else would need to take over in order to “repair our relationship across the political divide”.
It follows the collapse of the SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Greens.
Mr Yousaf’s decision to abruptly end the agreement just 48 hours after saying he had no intention of doing so angered the Greens and left him struggling to secure enough support in order to lead a a minority government.
He had been facing two votes of no confidence later this week that he was not certain to win, with the Greens saying they would vote to remove him as first minister.