Ahern to resign as Irish prime minister

DUBLIN, Ireland, April 2 (UPI) -- Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, a member of the Irish Parliament for more than three decades, announced he will resign effective May 6.

His announcement Wednesday came the day after Ahern began a court challenge to limit an inquiry into alleged planning corruption during the 1990s and Ahern's personal finances, the BBC reported.

"I have never received a corrupt payment and I've never done anything to dishonor any office that I've ever held," Ahern said during a news conference. "My decision is motivated by what is best for the people. It is a personal decision."

Ahern, the Ireland's second-longest serving prime minister, will be remembered for his role in the negotiations resulting in 1998's Good Friday Agreement, in which the British and Irish governments and most Northern Irish political parties established a framework for power-sharing in Northern Ireland, the BBC said.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Ahern "a leader for whom I had the greatest respect, admiration and friendship."

"He will always be remembered for his crucial role in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland, for transforming relations between Britain and the Irish Republic and for presiding over a sustained period of economic and social advance in Ireland," Blair told the BBC.