The premier of the northern German state of Lower Saxony is set to step down in May, dpa learned on Tuesday.

Stephan Weil, from the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), is expected to announce his resignation on Tuesday after leading the state since 2013.

The 66-year-old, a former mayor of the state’s capital, Hanover, is the third-longest serving premier in Germany.

The move comes two years before Lower Saxony holds state elections in 2027, with the SPD facing a battle to retain control in one of its traditional power bases.

The party regularly tops 30% of the vote in the state, despite falling to third place on 16.4% in February’s national parliamentary election.

Weil is set to be replaced as premier and SPD chief in Lower Saxony by the state’s economy minister, Olaf Lies.

The 57-year-old Lies was narrowly defeated by Weil in a leadership race more than a decade ago, but will now have the opportunity to lead an administration in Hanover.

Politicians from Lower Saxony dominate the upper echelons of the SPD, including Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and party co-leader Lars Klingbeil, who is leading negotiations with the conservative bloc over the formation of the next federal government in Berlin.

Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also born in the state before becoming mayor of the city-state of Hamburg.