Germany`s President Christian Wulff announced his resignation Friday in a televised statement, following a series of scandals that prompted calls for him to stand down, according to CNN.
Germany "needs a president who can devote himself completely to national and international challenges," Wulff said in a statement.
"(Germany) needs a president who is supported by the trust of not just a majority, but a wide majority of citizens.
"The developments of the past days and weeks have shown that this trust and therefore confidence in my ability to serve have been adversely affected. For this reason, it is no longer possible for me to continue in my role as president."
The German presidency is a largely ceremonial office but Wulff`s resignation will be seen as a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who supported his candidacy as president.
In a separate televised statement, Merkel said Wulff had put the interests of the general public to the fore in deciding to resign.
The members of her governing coalition would now discuss who should stand for election in his place, she said, in consultation with other political parties.
Merkel had been due to meet Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Rome to discuss the eurozone crisis but canceled the trip amid the political storm over Wulff, who belongs to her party.
Wulff, who was the state premiere of Lower Saxony for seven years, was one of Merkel`s biggest rivals within the Christian Democrats before being elected to the presidency in 2010.
It took three rounds of voting in the Reichstag, or German parliament, before he won enough backing from lawmakers to assume the role.
