BELFAST, Northern Ireland, May 7 (UPI) -- David Trimble announced Saturday he will resign as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party after losing his Northern Ireland seat in Upper Bann.
After losing his Westminster seat Friday, Trimble said Saturday he did not wish to continue in the post.
The UUP lost four of its MPs in the general election -- it now has one MP, compared to nine Democratic Unionists, the BBC reported.
"I am pleased to have had the privilege of leading what I regard as the best and most democratic political grouping in Ulster," he said in a statement.
"The party chairman will be arranging for a meeting of the party executive to make the arrangements for a special meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council to elect a new leader at which point I shall formally resign."
In 1998, Trimble and former Social Democratic and Labor Party leader John Hume won the Nobel Prize for their contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process.
