YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Monday that she would not seek re-election when her term expires in 2021, CNN reports.

Merkel, who has been Chancellor since 2005, made the announcement during a news conference today in Berlin.

"It is time today for me to start a new chapter," Merkel told reporters in Berlin

"This fourth term is my last term as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the next Bundestag election in 2021, I will not run again as Chancellor. I will not run for the German Bundestag any more, and I do not want any other political office."

Merkel told reporters that being Chancellor has been a "very challenging and fulfilling task."

Merkel also announced on Monday that she would stand down from the chairmanship of her center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party after 18 years in the post. She said she won’t run again for the position during the party’s congress in December.