Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she won’t run for a second term, ending a momentous five-year period that saw the financial hub become more isolated globally due to a crackdown on pro-democracy protests and rigid Covid-19 restrictions. Lam announced her plan at a regular press briefing at 11 a.m. Monday, saying she informed Beijing at last year’s annual National People’s Congress meeting that she wouldn’t run again. “This is a question of my personal wish and aspiration. My personal wish and aspiration is entirely based on my family considerations,” Lam told reporters. “This is what I have told the central people’s government. And they have expressed understanding.” Lam has come under fire repeatedly during her tenure as Beijing clamped down on the city: She faced U.S. sanctions over her role in helping China crack down on pro-democracy protests in 2019 and later drew scorn from international businesses over one of the the world’s strictest hotel quarantine policy. Lam has been the city’s least popular chief executive since the U.K. handed control of Hong Kong to China, according to Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. Lam declined to comment on reports that the city’s current No. 2 official, John Lee, is preparing to run in the May 8 vote, saying that she hadn’t received a resignation notice from anyone. Government officials who stand in the election must resign. Lam invoked emergency powers in February to postpone the election, which was originally planned for March 27. That came amid an omicron outbreak that resulted in Hong Kong logging the highest virus death rate per capita in a developed country, due to its under-vaccinated elderly population. Before that, she had been tipped as the race front-runner, with local media calling her a “comeback queen.” Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake