Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:22 pm on 11 December 2018.
Thank you, Llywydd. Later this afternoon, I will be writing to Her Majesty the Queen to resign after nine years as First Minister of Wales. It's been a privilege to succeed my friend and mentor Rhodri Morgan, and of course it's been a huge privilege to serve Wales in this job and to be at the helm at such a challenging and crucial time in our history as a nation. In preparing to give up the reins, I have mixed feelings, of course. They are bittersweet, if I can put it in those terms. Those are the feelings I have, like everyone else leaving a post that has been central to their lives. There's a sense of sadness in standing down as well as pride, too, in the work that has been achieved.