Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s first openly gay taoiseach, or prime minister, said Wednesday that he would step down — a shocking move that he said was for both “personal and political” reasons.

Varadkar, who became Ireland’s youngest taoiseach in 2017, said he would also relinquish his leadership of the center-right Fine Gael party, which forms a ruling coalition government along with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.

“I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place,” he told reporters gathered outside government buildings in Dublin.

Sounding emotional, he said there was no “real reason” behind his decision and he “had nothing else lined up.”

“I have nothing in mind,” he added. “I have no definite personal or political plans.”

A senior Irish official told NBC News that the announcement would be “a bolt from the blue for the Irish public,” which “throws everything up in the air.” The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, added that Varadkar, who trained as a physician, “didn’t see a lifetime in politics.”

Varadkar’s departure, which comes less than a week after he met with President Joe Biden at the White House before St. Patrick’s Day, will not automatically trigger an election.

Varadkar said he had asked for a new leader of the party to be chosen on April 6, allowing a new prime minister to take office after parliament’s Easter break.