Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde has said he will step down and has announced his intention to call an early election for 9 May.
Mr Haarde told a news conference a medical examination had last week revealed he had a malignant tumour of the oesophagus and he would seek surgery abroad at the end of January or early February.
'I have decided not to seek re-election as leader of the Independence Party at its upcoming national congress,' he said, saying a new chairman would lead the party in the elections.
Elections would not normally be held until 2011.
Mr Haarde had been under growing pressure due to his country's financial collapse.
Anti-government demonstrations, held almost nightly in Reykjavik since the collapse of the country's banking system, have been increasingly violent.
