German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks as she attends a news conference following the Hesse state election in Berlin, Germany, October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Monday she would not seek re-election as chairwoman of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in December, heralding the beginning of the end of her 13-year era of dominance in European politics.

“Firstly, at the next CDU party congress in December in Hamburg, I will not put myself forward again as candidate for the CDU chair,” she told reporters, drawing the consequences of setbacks for the CDU in a regional vote on Sunday.

“Secondly, this fourth term is my last as German chancellor. At the federal election in 2021, I will not stand again as chancellor candidate, nor as a candidate for the Bundestag, and ... I won’t seek any further political offices,” she added.